Boxing

Canelo Alvarez And Terence Crawford Reveal Their Toughest Opponents

Canelo vs Crawford: Two fighters name their toughest opponents.
Apratim Banerjee|
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will fight on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It's a battle between two top pound-for-pound fighters and the winner will take home the undisputed super middleweight title.

Throughout their careers, the pair have faced top competition, as most of their fights have been at the championship level. Many argue, including Eddie Hearn, that Canelo has faced superior competition.

That doesn't take away from what Crawford has done, though, as he's 41-0-0 with 31 knockout wins. 'Bud' has wins against Errol Spence Jr, Shawn Porter, Amir Khan, Kell Brook, and more, but surprisingly he told ESPN that Yuriorkis Gamboa was his toughest opponent. Crawford faced Gamboa in 2014 and emerged victorious with the ninth round stoppage in a back-and-forth fight. Gamboa is the only fighter to ever significantly hurt Crawford.

Canelo, meanwhile, is 63-2-2 with 39 knockout wins, including against Gennadiy Golovkin, Caleb Plant, Jermell Charlo, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, and Billy Joe Saunders. Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather are the only the two fighters to have beaten Alvarez.

Pointing out his toughest career fights, Canelo named three, saying:

Golovkin, Mayweather, Miguel Angel Cotto.

Canelo Alvarez suffered his first career defeat to Floyd Mayweather back in 2013, losing by majority decision. He beat Cotto in 2015 via unanimous decision and faced Golovkin three times in his career. The first clash in 2017 ended in a split draw. Canelo won the 2018 rematch via majority decision before bagging a unanimous win in the 2022 trilogy bout.

The Canelo vs Crawford clash will rank high on both fighters' resumes. It's arguably the biggest fight of Crawford's career and could even be considered one of the biggest fights of Canelo's. 'Bud' is taking the risk of moving up two weight classes as he looks to become the first ever male fighter to become undisputed champion in three different weight divisions.

There are a lot of questions surrounding the fight, though. Many are concerned about how Crawford will handle Canelo's power. Others think 'Bud' will take the Mexican into deep waters with his movement and boxing skills.

Either way, fireworks are expected when the opening bell rings on September 13.

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Apratim Banerjee
APRATIM BANERJEE

Apratim is a Boxing and Soccer reporter for On SI. He has been in the industry for five years, having also worked for The Sporting News, Sportskeeda, EssentiallySports, and more. After coming from an engineering background, he started pursuing a career in sports media. Apratim also holds an MSc. Sport Marketing degree from Loughborough University London and is a keen practitioner of social media and digital marketing. In his spare time, Apratim likes to play an array of sports and practice calisthenics. He is also an avid enthusiast of improving his martial arts skills.