Boxing

Eddie Hearn Reveals Why Canelo Alvarez Won't Take Terence Crawford Rematch

Eddie Hearn didn't mince words about where Canelo Alvarez is at in his career after losing to Terence Crawford.
Grant Young|
Eddie Hearn attends a press conference on May 27, 2025.
Eddie Hearn attends a press conference on May 27, 2025. | IMAGO / AFLOSPORT

There is a lot of intrigue about where both Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will go next in their respective boxing careers after their fight on September 13, which resulted in Crawford winning a unanimous decision and taking Canelo's undisputed super middleweight belts.

The world appears to be Crawford's oyster right now. Not only can he choose between numerous opponents, but there are also multiple weight divisions he could fight in. Not to mention that a potential rematch against Canelo would appear to be on the table, which could earn Crawford nine figures.

The future isn't as bright for Canelo. While he's still one of boxing's biggest stars and will make an absurd amount of money in his next bout, there's strong evidence his best days are behind him. And Canelo's fan base doesn't want his career to end with consecutive defeats or, even worse, with Canelo getting knocked out for the first time.

Many assume Canelo's first choice for his next fight would be to rematch Crawford. However, others don't think that's a smart idea, given how the first fight went.

Eddie Hearn Gets Brutally Honest About Canelo's Career

Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford
IMAGO / PxImages

One of those in the latter group is Matchroom Boxing head honcho Eddie Hearn, who revealed as much in a September 21 interview with Keith Idec of Ring Magazine.

“I don’t think Canelo will want the rematch. I think there’s a rematch clause. I don’t know," Hearn said. "It’s very unusual for Canelo to go into a fight without a rematch clause. But, for me, I just can’t see Canelo going, 'Yes, I want to run that back.’

“A certain style is not good for Canelo. When I talked about the Crawford fight with Canelo two years ago, he had no interest in that fight because he knew. Talk about Crawford’s IQ, Canelo’s IQ, Reynoso’s IQ — they know boxing. They knew that fight was a nightmare for them, really," Hearn added.

“But financially, obviously it was a huge opportunity. But when you start saying, ‘My body just can’t do it anymore. It can’t,’ that’s a telltale sign that he knows that physically he’s just not the same. I think what we shouldn’t be saying is, ‘Canelo’s old. Canelo’s shot,’ because you’ve got to give the credit to Crawford.

"But Canelo is nowhere near the fighter he once was," Hearn added.

Props to Hearn for willing to speak his truth, despite how others might feel about it.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.