Boxing

Terence Crawford Reveals Surprising Percent Chance He Has Of Beating Canelo Alvarez

Terence Crawford's honest self-assessment about potentially beating Canelo Alvarez is raising eyebrows.
Grant Young|
Apr 20, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Terence Crawford looks on after winning his fight against Amir Khan during the WBO welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Sarah Stier-Imagn Images
Apr 20, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Terence Crawford looks on after winning his fight against Amir Khan during the WBO welterweight title fight at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Sarah Stier-Imagn Images | Sarah Stier-Imagn Images

In 82 days, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will be entering the ring to face Terence Crawford in what many believe is one of the highest profile fights in recent memory for the sport of boxing.

This September 13, 2025, showdown (which is for Canelo's WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF world super middleweight titles) is between guys who have a combined 27 world title victories between them (17 for Canelo and 10 for Crawford) and two guys who are almost always included at the top of pound-for-pound discussions.

However, while nobody can deny that Crawford is the world's best boxer in the 147-154 pound weight divisions, the problem is that he isn't fighting in these weight divisions against Canelo. This size discrepancy is leading some to believe that while Crawford might be the most skilled boxer to this point in his and Canelo's respective careers, Canelo's size advantage will ultimately prevail in this showdown.

Regardless, there's no question that both Crawford and Canelo are capable of winning this fight. And despite both guys surely being confident about their chances, Crawford admitted that he isn't 100% certain he's going to get his hand raised during a June 21 interview with Piers Morgan, which was posted on Ring Magazine's YouTube channel.

“We never 100% [sure we're going to win], I’mma say 70%," Crawford said. "I’m always high on confidence. If you don’t have confidence in yourself, then why should anybody else believe in you?”

Crawford deserves some props for being honest about the chances he gives himself to beat Canelo. However, some in the boxing community would surely think that Crawford saying anything less than 100% when asked about his chances of winning on September 13 would show some mental weakness.

But those who would say that have surely not ascended to Crawford's level in the sport.

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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.