Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford have reportedly agreed to a fight in September in Las Vegas. Last Saturday, the unified super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) met with Turki Al-Shiekh in London.
“Sources close to the operation tell me that an agreement has already been reached for Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford to face each other in September of this year in Las Vegas. #CaneloCrawford,” said JuliusJulianis on X.
It’s a smart move on Canelo’s part to fight Crawford in September because he’ll be fighting him off a long, long layoff. The Nebraska native, Bud, hasn’t fought since his narrow win over WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.
Age & Inactivity
Crawford is unlikely to take a risky fight before the September contest against Canelo. Also, Crawford turns 38 on September 28. So, Canelo will be aging him a little more by making him wait a little longer before he gets his golden parachute retirement payday fight against him.
It’s only four months from May to September, but that can be a lifetime when a person is nearing 40, like Crawford. We’ve all seen people age dramatically when they hit the big 38, and it’s not pretty. It might not matter to Crawford. He’d just be happy getting the payday.
Julianis adds that both fighters will take interim fights, but Crawford might choose not to. He didn’t look good against Madrimov. Even against an average 154-pounder contender, he’d likely struggle due to the size, youth, and power of anyone he fought. Madrimov was punching holes through Crawford in that fight.
Ideally, Crawford should take an interview fight at 168 to get his feet wet in that division before fighting Canelo. Again, that’s too risky. The 37-year-old Terence has been too inactive since 2020, fighting once a year and only facing one quality guy, Madrimov, and he almost lost to him.
Canelo is likely to fight a unification fight against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) in May on Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend. This would allow Canelo to become a two-time undisputed champion at 168. That’s a big deal.
Crawford will have to bulk up to have a chance against Canelo. He looked weak, old, and small against Madrimov.
For the fans who remember how Crawford looked in his fights at 147 against Errol Spence, David Shawn Porter, and Kell Brook, he doesn’t look like that anymore. Terence has aged, and he’s not helping himself by enjoying the fruits of his labor by fighting just once a year.
This is the big fight that boxing fans and Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) have been asking for. Now, it appears to be here.
2025-01-13 01:50:02
