Something fascinating happened in the 11th round of Canelo Alvarez’s undisputed title defence against Terence Crawford.
After so many questions about whether the Mexican idol could slowly break his American challenger, the opposite happened. Crawford broke Canelo.
Crawford, who had already proven himself too slick, too smart, and too elusive for Canelo over the course of the preceding rounds, began unloading extended clips of leather ammo on the champion, who had no substantial retort but to shake his head.
Yet this wasn’t the trademark shake of the head that fans have become accustomed to seeing from the 35-year-old – the dismissive shake that tells opponents they haven’t dented or even scratched his armour. Canelo was not shaking his head at Crawford; he was shaking his head to himself, in disgust.
Over, and over, and over, the 37-year-old Crawford was landing southpaw lefts: straights, uppercuts, hooks. Unable to slip or roll these punches as he usually would, Canelo settled for sighs. The realisation had set in: It was too late. Those sporadic body shots and hooks to the arms had not paid off. Crawford’s early bursts of offence in the rounds – and sensible evasion late – had paid off. For Canelo, the fight had gone. His titles had gone.
More pointedly, perhaps, he had suffered the humiliation of seeing Crawford ambitiously venture into his territory – both the 168lb division and Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Weekend – and triumph. The result was not yet official, of course, and there was always the prospect of a fortunate scorecard, but surely the boxing world would understand, regardless, that Crawford had won this fight.
It was expected that the stylistic strand to this match-up would be yanked back and forth, in the ultimate tug of war: Canelo’s plodding but powerful and spiteful pressure, against Crawford’s fleet footwork, impeccable timing, and shrewd shot selection. And that was indeed the case, with the latter skillset and approach winning out.
All that was left was for Michael Buffer to confirm it, and as he did, even the thousands of Mexicans in Allegiant Stadium had to accept the reality and offer praise to Crawford.
It is also worth saying that, in the build-up, the phrase “a fight we never thought we’d see” was forcefully twisted like a wrung towel. No, we did not think we’d see it, but not because it was an enthralling-but-elusive match-up; rather, it had barely crossed fans’ minds due to the massive weight disparity between the protagonists. In this sense, Canelo vs Crawford was perhaps the first real example of Saudi matchmaker Turki Alalshikh prioritising his wishes over those of fans – and over what made sense.
It was a colossal clash, yes, but also a contrived one. However, that would be forgotten if it delivered in the ring or if Crawford’s gamble paid off in a city made for gambling. The fight came to life late on, it gave way to Crawford’s ultimate victory, and so any faults with the matchmaking will not be remembered.
This was history. That term is often thrown around like a haphazard overhand, but here, it fits like the gloves that dealt Canelo defeat. Crawford is now the first three-weight undisputed champion of the modern era. Furthermore, he is a five-weight champion, going one better than Canelo, whose second undisputed reign at 168lb ended here. But most impressively, Crawford achieved this feat by going two weight classes above his previous maximum, risking resembling a pugilistic Icarus gliding too close to the scorching Nevada sun.
Still, Canelo took a risk, too, putting his pride and legacy on the line against a smaller man. That should not be forgotten, and as easy as it is to talk up Crawford’s performance and achievement, Canelo fought well in stints and played his part on this era-defining night. If only he took more risks in the fight itself, as Crawford did.
But in truth, Canelo’s legacy is already secure. Many times he has taken risks, and he has come back from defeats before. His activity is one of his greatest assets, and he is due back in the ring twice in 2026. The numbers are fuzzy, but if he did not earn $100m tonight, he will have done by the end of his deal with the Saudis.
Whether Crawford will ever step foot in a ring again remains to be seen. On this night, in showing that he is simply on another level to Canelo, he also took his legacy to another level.
Five-weight champion. Three-weight undisputed king. Unbeaten. Terence “Bud” Crawford took everything from Canelo, and there may be nothing left for him in this sport.
