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Phil Mickelson ruthlessly criticized his own Ryder Cup captain while sitting next to him at a press conference

The Ryder Cup can bring out both the best and worst in professional golfers.

Just ask Phil Mickelson.

It is a dramatic, high-pressure event that pits the world’s best players against one another, as Team USA faces off against Team Europe.

READ: Phil Mickelson has already made his feelings clear on being

The 45th Ryder Cup tees off at the end of the month on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in New York, with America, led by captain Keegan Bradley, seeking redemption against their European rivals, captained again by Luke Donald.

In 2023, Europe defeated USA by a score of 16¹⁄₂ to 11¹⁄₂.

The high-stakes event can lead to a lot of turmoil, both externally and internally. Look no further than what Mickelson had to say 11 years ago.

At the 40th Ryder Cup in 2014, tempers flared within the US camp as Mickelson very publicly – and not so subtly – called out captain Tom Watson.

Mickelson openly disagreed with Watson’s pairing choices and lineup management. He did so sitting just a few chairs down from Watson during a press conference.

“There were two things that allowed us to play our best, I think, that Paul Azinger [the previous captain] did, and one was he got everybody invested in the process,” Mickelson said.

“He got everybody invested in who they were going to play with, who the picks were going to be, who was going to be in their pod, who — when they would play, and they had a great leader for each pod.

“In my case, we had Ray Floyd, and we hung out together and we were all invested in each other’s play…

“And the other thing that Paul did really well was he had a great game plan for us, you know, how we were going to go about doing this.

“How we were going to go about playing together; golf ball, format, what we were going to do, if so-and-so is playing well, if so-and-so is not playing well, we had a real game plan.

“Those two things helped us bring out our best golf. And I think that, you know, we all do the best that we can and we’re all trying our hardest, and I’m just looking back at what gave us the most success.

“Because we use that same process in The Presidents Cup and we do really well. Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best.”

Watson calmly responded and politely disagreed.

“I had a different philosophy as far as being a captain of this team,” Watson said.

“You know, it takes 12 players to win. It’s not pods. It’s 12 players. And I felt — I based my decisions on — yes, I did talk to the players, but my vice captains were very instrumental in making decisions as to whom to pair with.

“I had a different philosophy than Paul. I decided not to go that way. But I did have most of them play in the practice rounds together who played most of the time in the matches. I think that was the proper thing to do…

“Yes, I did mix-and-match a little bit from there, but again, you have to go with the evolution of the playing of the match and see who is playing the best and who to play with whom, and that’s what I did.”

Europe would defeat the United States with ease at Gleneagles.

In the last 10 Ryder Cups going back to 2004, Europe has won seven of them. However, the last four have been split 2-2.

Bradley and Team USA consist of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler plus recent major winners J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele.

Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns complete the side.

Donald has kept his Team Europe side consistent from Rome with Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood the main men.

Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Viktor Hovland, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka are also on the roster.

BOXING

Why Ranking Terence Crawford above Floyd Mayweather ‘can be s

Ranking Terence Crawford above Floyd Mayweather ‘can be self-serving’

The aftermath of Terence Crawford-Saul “Canelo” Alvarez left us with one enduring quote. Everybody knew Crawford’s victory was significant, but just how much did it enhance his legacy? Could the audacity and mastery he showed even elevate him above Floyd Mayweather Jnr – who had also defeated Alvarez – historically?

Asked to compare his fights with the two men, Alvarez was blunt. “I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather,” he said.

Coming from the only man to have fought both Crawford and Mayweather, those words can go a long way and have ignited debates in the week since Crawford defeated Canelo. On the other hand, while the physical fights end with the final bell, psychological wars are waged well before and afterwards. Alvarez may have been caught up in Crawford’s mastery, but maybe he also wanted to take a shot at Mayweather.

JUST IN: Anthony Joshua Accused Of Avoiding Heavyweight Rival For

“It’s probably too close to the fight [to read into Canelo’s comment],” Stephen “Breadman” Edwards told BoxingScene. “Fighters are emotional, and sometimes they say self-serving things. Maybe Canelo’s trying to get Floyd back for saying certain things about him. You never know.

“Sometimes you just have to be careful with anything that a fighter says, because sometimes it can be self-serving. Sometimes it can be emotions after the fight. [Canelo] may, deep down inside, not think as highly of Floyd as a person.

“It’s a lot of things with fighters. Sometimes I’ll hear fighters say the best fighter that they’ve ever faced, and they’ll come up with somebody, and you know that person’s not the best fighter that they’ve faced, but you’ve gotta kind of respect it. ‘Okay, whatever.’ You hear it all the time. Most fighters say off-the-wall stuff.”

One such instance: during the build-up to Crawford-Canelo, Alvarez took shots at Crawford’s resume. “If you look at his career, mention one elite fighter,” Alvarez said during a bizarre discussion including Crawford, Tom Brady, and Shaquille O’ Neal.

“So [Viktor] Postol wasn’t elite?” Crawford retorted, referring to the Ukrainian against whom Crawford unified two 140lbs titles in 2016. “Ricky Burns wasn’t elite?”

Crawford could have named Errol Spence or Shawn Porter, both far better-known and respected fighters he knocked out at welterweight. Why he did not is anybody’s guess.

“You can’t challenge their opinion because it’s opinion, it’s subjective,” Edwards said. “It is what it is. I think Spence is better than Postol, but if that’s what Crawford says, how we gonna argue with him? He’s the one that been in the ring, he beat both guys! If anybody has the most credibility, it would be him.”

Breadman, for this reason, doesn’t put much stock into Alvarez’s comment.

“I don’t know how Canelo feels about Floyd deep down inside,” he said. “He might be taking a jab at Floyd. You never know how that works.”

BOXING

Anthony Joshua Accused Of Avoiding Heavyweight Rival For

Anthony Joshua Accused Of Avoiding Heavyweight Rival For Comeback

Anthony Joshua has not competed inside the boxing ring since September 2024.

In the 12 months since, he has been receiving from a minor elbow injury and biding his time for a final run at the heavyweight division.

Last time out, the former two time unified heavyweight ruler was stopped inside five rounds by Daniel Dubois. After that defeat, many fans had hoped he would go on to have a generational showdown with Tyson Fury, though Fury instead retired after losing for a second time to Oleksandr Usyk back in December.

JUST IN: Floyd Mayweather hints at shock return to boxing after Mike Tyson

Another man that Joshua has been linked to over the years is dangerous heavyweight Martin Bakole, who is trained by recent world title winning trainer Billy Nelson.

Speaking to Seconds Out, Nelson was asked if there was an offer on the table for Bakole to fight ‘AJ.’

“Nah, they don’t want to fight Martin Bakole. If they want to fight Martin Bakole the answer is yes, right now, the answer is yes.”

This contest has long been mooted as a possible fight to take to Africa with Joshua having Nigerian heritage and Bakole hailing from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire, which famously hosted The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974 when George Foreman and Muhammad Ali fought in one of the most watched televised events of the time.

Right now, neither man has an opponent lined up, with Joshua set to return in early 2026, potentially in Lagos. Now 35 and with four losses on his ledger, he will need to choose wisely in this final chapter of his decorated career.

Bakole, meanwhile, was stopped by Parker as a late stand-in back in February and drew with Efe Ajagba in May.

BOXING

Floyd Mayweather hints at shock return to boxing after Mike Tyson

Floyd Mayweather hints at shock return to boxing after Mike Tyson fight to risk his iconic pro record

Already gearing up for a massive exhibition clash with Mike Tyson next year, Floyd Mayweather has staggeringly hinted at another surprise return to the ring.

Inking a deal earlier this month to return to the squared circle, unbeaten former multi-division world champion Floyd Mayweather will compete in an exhibition clash with heavyweight star Mike Tyson.

And set to turn in yet another exhibition clash following his official retirement back in 2017, Mayweather will set foot in the ring under those circumstances for a ninth time.

JUST IN: Heartbreaking: The real reason Mike Tyson agreed to face Floyd

However, in a shocking turn of events, the Michigan technician revealed plans to potentially go one further and put his pro record up for grabs.

Floyd Mayweather plays up pro boxing return next year

In a week in which we’ve seen former middleweight world champion Gennady Golovkin tease a potential return to the ring for the first time in three years, fans can potentially expect Mayweather to follow suit, too.

Yet to fight professionally since joining the exclusive 50-0 club back in 2017, Mayweather turned in his historic final win with a dominant tenth-round TKO win over crossover UFC megastar Conor McGregor.

However, while discussing his exhibition clash with veteran rival Tyson, Mayweather revealed plans have been thrashed out for him to make a professional return to the ring.

Floyd Mayweather Says He Could Return To Ring For Pro Fight, Risk 50-0 Record https://t.co/mZyXf6b6zn pic.twitter.com/75jG0CTtc5

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 21, 2025

“There have been talks. There have been talks. It’s possible,” Mayweather told TMZ Sports of a professional boxing return.

“I’m not really training right now. The fight [with Mike Tyson] is in 2026. We’re still ironing out everything,” Mayweather explained. “But I’m pretty sure it’s going to be exciting for the people and the fans.”

Floyd Mayweather’s many retirements from boxing

Over the course of his decorated career in the ring, Mayweather has ended his career time and time again.

Eventually making numerous comebacks, of course, the Grand Rapids star would most notably retire after improving to 49-0 with a routine win over Andre Berto, before returning two years later to score a lucrative fight with McGregor.

Earlier on during his tenure, Mayweather spent considerable time away from the ring after fights with the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, before returning to face the late Ricky Hatton in the pair’s title showdown.

BOXING

Heartbreaking: The real reason Mike Tyson agreed to face Floyd

Mike Tyson Reveals Heartbreaking Reason He Agreed to Floyd Mayweather Fight

Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson is set for a shock return to the ring next year when he takes on Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout.

No location has yet been confirmed for the fight, which will be promoted by CSI Sports/Fight Sports. The bizarre clash is expected to take place next spring over eight, two-minute rounds.

Neither Tyson or Mayweather are strangers to the exhibition format. Since retiring as a professional after beating UFC superstar Conor McGregor in August 2017, ‘Money’ has competed in no less than eight exhibition bouts.

Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026 | CNN

READ: How A Loss To An Inactive Crawford Has Shattered Canelo Alvarez

The undefeated fighter has tested his skills against the likes of Logan Paul, Deji and John Gotti III, reportedly scooping major paydays on each occasion.

Tyson fought fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr in a November 2020 exhibition, although his most recent in-ring activity came in a professional contest against social media star Jake Paul last November. ‘Iron Mike’ entered a disappointing performance against ‘The Problem Child’, losing via unanimous decision in a bout where he barely landed a punch.

Mike Tyson Explains Decision to Face Floyd Mayweather

Given his struggles against Paul, many have questioned why Tyson would agree to fight again, especially against an opponent as skilled as Mayweather. The New-York-born knockout artist was quizzed on his motivation during a recent appearance on The Today Show. Tyson responded:

“I have a 14-year-old son, and my son said ‘Why? Why are you doing this?’ For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. And I felt sad for a moment. I said, because I’m the best that ever did it. That’s why.”

However, the youngest-ever world heavyweight champion would pause, before continuing by making a statement that will be tough for his long-time fans to hear:

“He didn’t get it, but I said, ‘I have to, it is all I know how to do.'”

Tyson would then try to justify his stance by pointing out that he had made more money in his 50s (by fighting Jones Jr and Paul) than he did in the whole of his 20s. While his upcoming bout with Mayweather will undoubtedly be highly regulated to ensure fighter safety, the fact that Tyson feels that he needs to keep competing is concerning.

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The veteran slugger, who turns 60 next July, has had various ventures away from the ring, including acting, podcasting and launching a range of products bearing his likeness. After his loss to Paul, Tyson insisted that he wouldn’t step back into the squared circle again.

However, the lure of the sport in which he became a legend – and the money that comes with it – keeps pulling Tyson back. The same can be said for Mayweather, who will be 49 years old by the time next year’s showdown takes place. While the competitive fire burns within a fighter, it is tough for them to close the door on one last fight.

CELEB NEWS

Novak Djokovic’s wife makes marriage confession after

THROWBACK: Novak Djokovic’s wife makes marriage confession after John McEnroe TV accusation

Novak Djokovic has already sealed legendary status in the world of tennis, having become the most successful tennis player in the history of the men’s game

The Serb has amassed 24 Grand Slam titles during his glittering career; a tally that surpasses Rafael Nadal (22) and Roger Federer.

He was also the first man to hold all four major titles at once, but there is clearly room for more.

JUST IN: Serena Williams Shows Off Her Hourglass Silhouette in Slinky

The 38-year-old is bidding to win his eighth Wimbledon title, which would see him equal Federer as the most successful men’s player at the Championships.

Such an incredible career has unsurprisingly been a huge boost to his bank balance, while it’s also come with plenty of off-court rumours.

Novak Djokovic net worth

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Djokovic crossed the $150m (£110m) mark for prize money after his win at Wimbledon in 2021. In June 2023, victory at the French Open pushed his career on-court earnings past $170m (£125m).

Despite falling short in the Wimbledon final last year, his total on-court prize money had still grown to top $184m (£125m).

He is now expected to become the first ever player to surpass $200m (£147m) in career prize money by the end of the year – a record unlikely to be broken anytime soon.

But while his numerous tournament victories have done wonders for earning power, Djokovic’s overall net worth is much higher, with estimates placing his worth at around ($240m) £176.5m.

Indeed, a string of high-profile sponsorship deals have done wonders for helping to top up his already healthy income.

He was initially snapped up as a partner by Adidas, before being dropped by the company in 2009 in favour of Andy Murray.

Three years later, he signed a five-year deal with Uniqlo reportedly worth €8m a year. In that time, he arguably became the global face of tennis, and his success on the court brought more commercial success, amid deals with brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Seiko, and Head.

In 2017, he moved from Uniqlo to Lacoste, a partnership that still going strong, with Djokovic serving as the brand’s global ambassador and figure head for its athletic apparel division.

Between June 2017 and June 2018, he earned $24m (£17.6m) from salary and endorsements. That income jumped to $50m (£36m) between 2018 and 2019, followed by $45m (£33m) the following year.

Novak Djokovic’s wife opens up on marriage after McEnroe comments

Djokovic shares his substantial personal wealth with high school sweetheart Jelena.

After getting together in 2005, the pair tied the knot nine years later at the Aman Sveti Stefan Resort, a luxury hotel resort in Montenegro.

Jelena, 38, is a prominent businesswoman in her own right, and is the global CEO of the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which she co-founded with her husband.

She has previously often been seen courtside cheering her husband on at major tournaments.

However, her absence at Wimbledon in 2019, when she missed her husband’s games, sparked rumours about the state of their marriage.

Despite looking to clarify the matter, explaining it was down to Tara being too young to attend, speculation remained rife.

BBC pundit John McEnroe even started a rumour, suggesting a dip in the Serbian star’s form was due to “off-court issues with the family”.

McEnroe added: “The person that comes to mind immediately with Novak is not a tennis player, it’s actually a golfer: Tiger Woods. Woods had the issues with his wife and then he seemed to go completely off the rails.

“He’s never been even close to being the same player. So we’re starting to say: ‘Wait a minute, is this possible with him, Djokovic?'”

Djokovic hit back, saying: “He’s very well known for his kind of bold comments and not really caring too much about being politically correct but saying whatever is on his mind.

“He has his right to say the things he wants to say. I don’t necessarily need to agree with that. But it’s his right.”

Jelena has candidly spoken about the media scrutiny that come with being married to a high-profile athlete, confessing to Vesti-Online: “When you are young, the spotlight and attention certainly feel comfortable. At first, the experience does not alarm you because it can bring you some difficulties. We look at public figures and think that kind of publicity is OK.

“But as time goes on, you lack anonymity, you lack the privacy to be able to do whatever you like at any time, in any situation. I try to resist all these expectations to always be myself and for Novak to be able to be himself. That is probably why I am being criticised by the public ‘why didn’t I wear makeup’ or ‘why wasn’t I always wearing heels’.”

In a 2020 interview on In Depth with Graham Besinger, Jelena added she had been “judged” for not fitting into the stereotype of an athlete’s wife.

“I think this is going to be brave to say to millions of people watching,” she said. “But I was trying to compete with him because I felt like, ‘I’m also deserving and I’m not getting enough credit for what I’m doing because I’m doing it more in the backstage’. My ego was there battling also, an internal battle because I always felt like I can express so much more but I have to do it quietly.”

“Basically, as a woman, you are not allowed to speak up a lot, you are not allowed to show up a lot,” she expanded. “There is this stereotype about who is the wife of an athlete, how she should look like, how she should behave, and I don’t fit very well into that stereotype. I am glad I don’t because I don’t need to. But it was hard because I was judged because of it.”

GOLF

Phil Mickelson has already made his feelings clear on being

Phil Mickelson has already made his feelings clear on being Ryder Cup captain

Phil Mickelson has already made his thoughts clear on potentially being the Ryder Cup captain, while also opting to poke fun at Patrick Cantlay’s style of play.

Mickelson, the LIV Golf star, is one of the most prominent American Ryder Cup players, having played in 47 matches throughout his career. Overall, the 55-year-old has won 18 times, lost 22, accumulated seven halves, and won a total of 21.5 points.

READ: How Greg Norman ‘heard’ that Tiger Woods prevented him from

Despite his immense experience, Mickelson has only been named a vice captain once (2021) and never as a captain. Having never received that call, the star admits that he believes his time to be named captain is up.

“I don’t feel I’m the right guy to be involved with the team because I’m a very divisive character right now, if you will, and I understand that,” he said in 2024 [h/t The Golfing Gazette]. The LIV star believed that his jumping ship to the Saudi-backed circuit could have caused some fractures in his relationships.

“The players on the PGA Tour, there’s a lot of hostilities towards me, and I don’t feel I’d be the best leader for them,” he candidly admitted. “I knew I was going to take some hits going forward. I’m OK with that. And as a divisive individual. I don’t think I’m the best unifier going forward for the Ryder Cup, and that’s fine because I’ve had so many great memories with it.”

Despite stating that he would not want to be captain for fear of fracturing the team, the golf star is not one to hold back his criticism, even if it could be detrimental to the team’s performance.

In 2014, Mickelson spoke out openly against captain Tom Watson’s decisions on player pairings, with the latter telling reporters what he truly thought and called out his captain. “There were two things that allowed us to play our best, I think, that Paul Azinger [the previous captain] did, and one was he got everybody invested in the process,” he said at the time [h/t Talk Sport].

“He got everybody invested in who they were going to play with, who the picks were going to be, who was going to be in their pod, who — when they would play, and they had a great leader for each pod.

“In my case, we had Ray Floyd, and we hung out together and we were all invested in each other’s play… And the other thing that Paul did really well was he had a great game plan for us, you know, how we were going to go about doing this.

“How we were going to go about playing together; golf ball, format, what we were going to do, if so-and-so is playing well, if so-and-so is not playing well, we had a real game plan.

“Those two things helped us bring out our best golf. And I think that, you know, we all do the best that we can and we’re all trying our hardest, and I’m just looking back at what gave us the most success.

“Because we use that same process in The Presidents Cup and we do really well. Unfortunately, we have strayed from a winning formula in 2008 for the last three Ryder Cups, and we need to consider maybe getting back to that formula that helped us play our best.”

Mickelson and Team USA fell to Team Europe that year by a score of 16 1/2 to 11 1/2. Of note, that win punctuated European dominance, with the Europe winning eight of 10 competitions from 1995 to 2014.

CELEB NEWS

Serena Williams Shows Off Her Hourglass Silhouette in Slinky

Serena Williams Shows Off Her Hourglass Silhouette in Slinky Red Slip Dress After 31-Lb Weight Loss

Williams, 43, gave fans a look at her silhouette while wearing a floor-length dress on Wednesday, September 16. The tennis pro took to Instagram to share her look, which featured a sleeveless cherry red silk dress that hugged all her curves featuring a scoop neckline.

While posing in a library, Williams accessorized with silver pointed-toe kitten heels and a diamond tennis bracelet, as well as a coordinating necklace.

READ: Serena Williams Reveals the Real Reason Why She Used GLP-1 Medication to Lose Weight

For glam, she donned smokey eyeshadow, bronzed cheeks, long lashes and lined, glossy lips. Williams’ highlighted mane was parted to the side and styled in neat curls.

Williams reflected on the past few months in her caption, writing alongside the pics, “My summer started out well but I was plunged into a difficult August. Like many of you, I faced challenges that tested my spirit and resilience.” She added a message about self-love, continuing, “I took some time away to breathe, to reconnect with myself, and to remember that it’s perfectly okay to pause and reconnect. Even if it’s just a quiet night to yourself. Anything counts.”

The Olympian cheekily added, “The only thing I’m dealing with in this moment here is how good this dress looks against first editions.”

Williams’ slinky look comes after she got candid about using a GLP-1 medication to lose weight.

“After having my second kid, I was never able to be at a healthy weight that I could be at, whether it was my joints or blood sugar levels,” she explained to Today last month. “It was just always something I suffered with, and a lot of women actually go through this.” (Williams shares daughters Alexis Olympia, 7, and Adira River, 13 months, with husband Alexis Ohanian.)

he noted that getting on the medication wasn’t “a shortcut” in her transformation.

“As an athlete and as someone that has done everything, I just couldn’t get my weight to where I needed to be at a healthy place,” the tennis sensation shared.“And, believe me, I don’t take shortcuts.”

BOXING

“We Welcome Him”: WBC Champion Responds To Talk Of Crawford Campai

“We Welcome Him”: Fundora Responds To Talk Of Crawford Campaigning At 160 Pounds

Sebastian Fundora says he welcomes a fight against Terence Crawford if he’s open to facing him. WBC junior middleweight champion Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) doesn’t say whether he’d want the fight against Crawford at 154 or 160. But if he’s offered a big enough purse, it’s possible that he’d move up to middleweight to try and slay Crawford.

FUNDORA’S RELENTLESS PUNCH OUTPUT

“I think he’s thinking about going back to 160. We welcome him. Why not?” said Sebastian Fundora to Fighthype about his interest in fighting Terence Crawford. “It didn’t look like Canelo wanted that rematch.”

JUST IN: How A Loss To An Inactive Crawford Has Shattered Canelo Alvarez

A Bad Stylistic Matchup

There’s no chance Crawford would return to 154 to fight the 6’5 1/2″ punching machine Fundora, and have to deal with his output. That’s a bad style for an aging fighter who likely would fall apart under the strain of a war against Fundora.

Crawford would be forced to run, and that would make him look bad. If there was going to be a fight between them, it would have to be at 160. Even then, I have doubts that Terence would agree to it. He couldn’t count on Fundora gassing out like Canelo did, so he could pull out the decision in the championship rounds.

CRAWFORD LOOKED HIS AGE

If anything, Sebastian’s output would increase in rounds nine through twelve, and Crawford would take a beating in suffering his first career defeat. Against Canelo, Crawford had the ideal situation, fighting a slow, flat-footed fighter that faded after eight rounds.

Without that happening, Terence would have lost because he did not look “domineering” as his fans have repeatedly said in the aftermath of his victory. He looked slightly better than Canelo, and just as old. Crawford looked 38 to me.

The two 115-113 scores turned in by the judges were accurate for the fight. You could even call it a draw, and a few non-biased fans would agree. It looked like a draw to me, and I couldn’t care less which of them won. So, if you throw Crawford in the ring with Fundora, I believe it would end badly for Terence.

He needs a particular type of fighter for him to have a chance of winning, someone on the older side, like 42-year-old Erislandy Lara, the WBA middleweight champion.

Crawford: The Sport’s Top Star “Crawford can do whatever he wants. I hear there’s talk of him and Benavidez. Crawford is the #1 in the sport right now. He’s a smart fighter. He’s pound-for-pound for a reason,” said Sebastian.

CRAWFORD’S OTHER HIGH-PROFILE OPTIONS

Bud can do whatever he wants within reason. Sure, can fight whoever he pleases, but if he wants to keep his pay in the tens of millions, there are only a small number of fighters that he can face.

Assuming Canelo isn’t going to indulge Crawford for a rematch, these are the options for the Omaha, Nebraska native to fight to get the big money:

David Benavidez: He’s the guy that Turki Alalshikh mentioned last Saturday when he asked his followers on X if they think Benavidez can drop down to 168.

Dmitry Bivol: It’s possible that Bivol can be lured to 168 to fight Crawford for his undisputed championship. When Canelo held the four belts, Bivol was interested in a rematch for his undisputed crown.

Artur Beterbiev: It’s a fight that would need to occur soon because Beterbiev turns 41 on January 21, 2026, and he’s already showing signs of age. However, his punching power remains lethal, and he wouldn’t hesitate to walk through Crawford’s shots to land his powerful blows. It would come down to whether Crawford was willing to take on a puncher like Beterbiev.

If Turki Alalshikh is going to spoil Crawford by giving him absurd money to defend his four super middleweight titles against Hamzah Sheeraz, you can bet he’ll take that fight in a second.

That would be Turki gifting Terence by not insisting he work for his money by risking his hide against one of the three fighters above. “He [Canelo] doesn’t need to [retire],” said Fundora about Canelo Alvarez not needing to retire yet. If Canelo doesn’t retire, he’s going to have to be careful in the type of opposition he faces if he doesn’t want to suffer a never-ending string of defeats like one sees when a fighter is physically shot. He had the perfect situation in recent years, fighting Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, John Ryder, and William Scull. He’s already beaten those guys, and there’s not a lot of other fighters with inflated plastic records like them.

BOXING

How A Loss To An Inactive Crawford Has Shattered Canelo Alvarez

How A Loss To An Inactive Crawford Has Shattered Canelo Alvarez’s Legacy

Teddy Atlas says Canelo Alvarez’s legacy has been “dented” by his defeat against Terence Crawford last week. He states that the only way Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) can continue his career is to “right the wrong” by avenging the defeat against Crawford, if possible.

Of course, the defeat hurts Alvarez’s legacy. Losing to an older, inactive fighter who started his career out at lightweight puts a big dent in Canelo’s popularity with fans. What makes it even more telling is that Crawford was coming off a lackluster performance 13 months prior against Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024, in a fight that many fans felt he deserved to lose.

The combination of all those things suggests a couple of things: Canelo is a faded fighter: I believe Alvarez has been able to disguise his faded form in the last three years by fighting lower-tier contenders, Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga, and John Ryder.

JUST IN: Terence Crawford Officially Vacates WBA Belt, Handing The Title To

Bud is just as beatable: The way Crawford fought against Canelo, he’d likely lose to many, if not all, of the top 168-lb contenders, including the fighters at 160 and 154. I don’t think Crawford could best Christian Mbilli, Osleys Iglesias, Lester Martinez, or Hamzah Sheeraz at 168. He’s too weak, small, and unable to stand his ground and fight. He would have to do that to beat those fighters.

A REMATCH NOT WORTH THE MONEY

Even if Canelo wanted to, would Turki Alalshikh be willing to finance a rematch? Financially, it would not be worth it due to the huge purses that Alvarez and Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) would likely expect to receive. Performance-wise, neither is worthy of the money they made last time.

You can’t say that Crawford turned in a $50 million performance last week, and Canelo was nowhere near the level of a fighter who was paid $150 million. Turki would be better off going in a different direction rather than wasting money on a second Canelo-Crawford fight that fails to live up to the hype.

Crawford’s “Sink or Swim” Future Fans would be more interested in seeing them move on if they fought fighters where they would be viewed as the underdogs.

Throw Crawford in a sink or swim situation against one of these fighters: David Benavidez Dmitry Bivol Christian Mbilli Artur Beterbiev Putting Crawford in with any of those three would be like feeding a pack of hungry wolves.

I picture a scenario where those guys would have their ears pinned back, attacking Crawford relentlessly, chasing him around the ring in likely one-sided fights. It would be the survival of the fittest. The weak are picked off by the strong.

There would be so much drama and excitement in those fights, with fans wondering whether Crawford would get it or not. New Challenges for an Underdog With Canelo, he’d likely be the underdog at this point, merely fighting Hamzah Sheeraz.

As bad as he looked against Crawford, I could see the oddsmakers making Sheeraz the favorite. Another option for Canelo would be to match him against the winner of the rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn. You can’t plug Canelo in with any of the top five contenders at 168 and expect him to come out of the fight with his hand raised in my estimation.

I think it wouldn’t end well for Alvarez if you matched him against the top guys, the ones for whatever reason, he’s chosen not to fight in recent years. “He lost to a guy [Terence Crawford] who won his first time at 135, and has been inactive. It does dent his legacy,” said podhost Teddy Atlas on his channel, talking about Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Terence Crawford a week ago.

The defeat exposed Canelo, putting a spotlight on him and his career. It strengthened the argument that some fans have that Alvarez was never as good as he was made out to be. He was a fighter who made controversial decisions in his fights against Gennadiy Golovkin (1 & 2) and Erislandy Lara.

Crawford did the minimum to earn his decision and was nowhere near as impressive as Lara and GGG were in their fights. The difference is that the set of judges gave Terence the decision, but not those fighters. “Does he want to right a wrong? Is he concerned about his legacy?” said Atlas, questioning whether Canelo will push for the rematch with Crawford.

“He drops down a notch from what we had him. The only reason for Canelo to continue is if he doesn’t want to go out this way. He looks to undo what was done in the Crawford fight.” It wouldn’t be the first time Canelo has chosen not to rematch an opponent. After he lost to these two fighters, he never fought them to avenge his defeats: Dmitry Bivol [May 2022] Floyd Mayweather Jr [September 2013]

WAS LARA MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN CRAWFORD?

Some fans would add Erislandy Lara to the list of fighters who beat Canelo from their controversial fight on July 12, 2014. The judges gave Canelo a 12-round split decision, but many people, including myself, believed Erislandy was the winner. A Hit-and-Run Fighting Style The way Lara performed in that fight was arguably superior to how Terence Crawford did in his 12-round unanimous decision over Canelo.

In my view, Lara looked more impressive outboxing a prime Canelo than Crawford, who mostly just ran around the ring, winning rounds by using a hit-and-run style. In contrast, Erislandy stood in front of Canelo, jabbing him repeatedly, blocking and ducking his return fire. The Cuban Lara showed no fear and didn’t resort to running from Alvarez, which further sets his performance apart from how Crawford fought. Those two fights show how subjective scoring can be.