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Canelo woke up after Crawford loss to experience something he ha

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Canelo woke up after Crawford loss to experience something he hasn’t in seven years

Canelo Alvarez’s seven-year streak as a reigning world champion is over.

Terence Crawford ensured this by claiming an astonishing win over the now former undisputed super-middleweight king.

The 70,482 fans packed into the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, as well as those who tuned in to watch worldwide on Netflix, witnessed two pound-for-pound greats in a historic showdown.

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After overcoming the odds, that were undeniably stacked against him having climbed two-weight classes, Crawford extended his professional record to 42-0.

It showed how dominant a boxer Canelo had been given the shock loss marked the first time in seven years that he was not in possession of at least one belt.

Although his incredible streak as a title holder may now be over, he is undeniably one of the 21st Century’s pound-for-pound greats.

What was Canelo Alvarez’s seven-year reign as world champion?

The Mexican began his impressive streak in 2018, when he achieved a narrow majority decision win during his rematch with Gennady Golovkin.

Canelo handed the longtime champion his first loss as he claimed the WBC and WBA middleweight titles.

A year later, Canelo defeated Daniel Jacobs to claim his opponent’s IBF middleweight title and become the unified WBA, WBC and IBF champion of the division.

Continuing his impressive streak in a second outing in 2019, the Mexican challenger stepped up to add the WBO light-heavyweight world title to his collection when he knocked out Sergey Kovalev.

Then, in his lone appearance of 2020, he went head-to-head with Britain’s Callum Smith.

Canelo dominated their bout in order to claim the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine super-middleweight titles.

As he faced mandatory WBC world super-middleweight challengerAvni Yildirim in 2021, he not only defended his title but also knocked his opponent down in the third round.

After another KO win, Canelo was matched up to face-off with Billy Joe Saunders.

Following an eight-round stoppage due to Saunders sustaining a gruesome eye injury, their clash ended with Canelo winning the unified WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight belt.

From there, Caleb Plant had the only title of the super-middleweight division that Canelo had not yet claimed.

He ensured that no stone was left unturned when he got the opportunity to face the IBF title holder, Plant, in 2021, as Canelo delivered an 11th-round knockout to become the undisputed champion of the weight class.

Off the back of his continued success cleaning up in his fourth division he only lost once during his illustrious stint, when he clashed with Dmitry Bivol in Las Vegas in 2022.

Canelo’s staggering seven-year streak of title possession continued until September 2025 when he lost in Sin City.

Canelo’s seven-year itch

For seven straight years, Canelo had at least one belt now he has none…

  • 2018: Beat Gennady Golovkin: WBC and WBA middleweight world champion
  • 2019: Beat Daniel Jacobs: IBF middleweight world champion
  • 2019: Beat Sergey Kovalev: WBO light-heavyweight world champion
  • 2020: Beat Callum Smith: WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine super-middleweight world champion
  • 2021: Beat Avni Yildirim: Retained WBC super-middleweight title
  • 2021: Beat Billy Joe Saunders: Unified WBA, WBC and WBO super-middleweight titles
  • 2021: Beat Caleb Plant: IBF super-middleweight world champion
  • 2022: Lost to Dmitry Bivol
  • 2022: Beat Gennady Golovkin to retain undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles
  • 2023: Beat John Ryder to retain undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles
  • 2023: Beat Jermell Charlo to retain undisputed super-middleweight world titles
  • 2024: Beat Jaime Munguia to retain his undisputed super-middleweight crown
  • 2024: Beat Edgar Berlanga to retain his WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles
  • 2025: Beat William Scull to became a two-time undisputed super middleweight champion
  • 2025: Lost to Terence Crawford

Despite the loss, Canelo is a highly regarded pound-for-pound great that has held titles in four weight classes across his 20 years on the scene.

Crawford moved up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for his super-middleweight titles and action the ‘fight of the century’.

Many viewed victory as an unlikely outcome for Crawford due to the size difference between the men.

Although, his performance on Saturday night certainly proved any doubters wrong.

The 37-year-old defeated Canelo and in doing so became the first male three-weight undisputed champion across the four-belt era.

Not only that, but the Nebraska native also joined an elite group of five-weight world champions.

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