One of the biggest stories in the boxing world right now is what Terence Crawford is going to do next after his dominant unanimous decision win against Canelo Alvarez last month.

With that win, Crawford became the undisputed super middleweight champion, thus making him the first male boxer to become undisputed in three different weight divisions. Not to mention that this victory over the arguable face of boxing skyrocketed Crawford’s star power, making him known in the mainstream sports world and heightening his profile within the sweet science.

Crawford’s sustained dominance over several weight divisions makes it so he has all the options in the world regarding his next fight. He could stay at 168 pounds to rematch Canelo, drop back down to 154 pounds, or even jump up to the 174-pound division to fight Dmitry Bivol, David Benavidez, or Artur Beterbiev.

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Or Crawford could call it a career and hang up the gloves for good. And given that he just turned 38 years old (and now has more money than he knows what to do with after his success against Canelo), this option surely is looking more and more appealing by the day.

ESPN Gets ‘Real’ When Predicting Terence Crawford’s Next Career Move

On October 2, ESPN’s Andreas Hale wrote an article titled, ‘Boxing real or Not’. When it came to Terence Crawford, he answered the statement, “Terence Crawford’s next fight will be at 160 pounds,” by asserting that this was “Real” — so long as he decides to fight again.

Hale went on to note that Crawford would have a chance to win a championship in a sixth division if he moved down to 160 pounds (which he skipped over to face Canelo).

While Hale’s sentiment makes sense, Crawford would probably be sacrificing money to make this career move, as there’s no big name in the 160-pound middleweight division. Plus, the path to him winning an undisputed title at middleweight is murky because there are currently three champions there.

That being said, two of these champions (Janibek Alimkhanuly and Erislandy Lara) are supposed to be fighting in December. So if Crawford were to fight the third champion (Carlos Adames, WBC) and win, he could presumably face the winner of Alimkhanuly vs. Lara for the undisputed middleweight titles in 2026.

That said, Hale isn’t the first to raise this subject, as fans immediately took to X to debate the possibility when the fight was announced on October 2.

Therefore, it’s all up to what Crawford wants to do with the time remaining in his career. Or he could call it quits now and sail off into the sunset as an all-time great.

Terence Crawford reveals his negotiations to fight Canelo Alvarez lasted for nine hours.

Crawford is coming off of a unanimous decision win against Canelo met in the ‘fight of the century’ on September 13.

As ‘Bud’ moved up two weight classes to action their bout, the boxing fraternity were left wondering how it even came about.

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During an interview with Andre Ward, Crawford has explained the gruelling process of negotiating the purse for his clash with Canelo.

It all unfolded while he was in Saudi Arabia for Shakur Stevenson’s fight in February.

On All The Smoke Fight, he said: “They brought me in there, we went into a little back room and we were there for like nine hours.

“Going back-and-forth.

“They weren’t budging, I wasn’t budging.”

Crawford was left to finalise the terms for the superfight, without the assistance of his legal team.

He continued: “We finally came to terms.

“That day, everything happened that day.”

“It wasn’t the agreement that they wanted, it wasn’t the agreement that I wanted.

“It was kind of in the middle.”

Why did the negotiations take so long?

Saudi boxing promoter, Turki Alalshikh, was not so keen on a match-up between Crawford and Canelo at first.

Although once Canelo had penned his four-fight deal with the Saudi giant, it became inevitable that Crawford would get his way.

The Mexican walked away from his scheduled fight with Jake Paul, in order to pursue the first fight of his deal with William Scull in May.

After claiming a unanimous decision win, he headed into back camp to gear up for the hotly anticipated showdown with ‘Bud’.

Once Alalshikh had given his nod of approval, it left the nine-hours of negotiations up for grabs for Crawford.

Juan Manuel Marquez reveals the shocking truth behind Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Terence Crawford

Canelo Alvarez’s recent defeat to Terence Crawford has sparked a wave of criticism and analysis across the boxing world. The Mexican superstar, who fell short in defending his undisputed super middleweight crown, appeared vulnerable against an opponent who boldly jumped two weight classes to challenge him in Las Vegas.

Fans and pundits alike were surprised by Canelo’s performance, as many expected the seasoned champion to dominate. Instead, Crawford’s tactical approach exposed gaps in strategy and execution, leading to one of the most scrutinized fights of Canelo’s career.

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Among those sharing sharp insights is Juan Manuel Marquez, a former world champion and one of boxing’s most respected tacticians. Marquez knows what it takes to overcome elite opponents, and he was candid in assessing Canelo’s shortcomings.

What did Marquez see in Canelo’s performance?

Reflecting on the fight, Marquez told Izquierdazo, “Canelo Alvarez lacked strategy, he lacked a corner, so to speak. He needed a bit more guidance, something like: ‘Don’t just throw power shots, throw combinations. Crawford is hitting you—counterpunch too, you know how to do it well.’”

He continued, “And Canelo does counterpunch well, so in that sense he needed a bit more strategy, a proper game plan. Maybe they were overconfident that weight would be a deciding factor, that power punches alone would do the job. But the strategy was missing.”

Marquez’s critique highlights that despite Canelo’s natural power and experience, boxing at the highest level requires both preparation and adaptability. The fight showcased how a lack of tactical adjustments can leave even the most accomplished fighters exposed.

Analysts and fans share the same concern

Other experts echoed Marquez’s observations, pointing to Canelo’s passivity during key moments of the bout. Analysts noted that relying solely on physical advantage and knockout power was insufficient against Crawford, who demonstrated skill, timing, and poise far beyond expectations.

For a fighter of Canelo’s caliber, these criticisms underline the importance of a cohesive game plan, strategic cornering, and in-fight adaptability—a combination that could define his future success against elite opponents.

It’s been over two weeks since Terence Crawford made history.

So much happened during that time period. To honor his epic victory over Canelo Alvarez, a parade was organized in his hometown of Omaha. Controversy erupted when police stopped him, alleging reckless driving. Still, the overall mood is that of celebration. Crawford is now rightfully hailed as an all-time great.

But his biggest career victory continues to face scrutiny. Reports have emerged that Canelo Alvarez will undergo surgery to treat his elbow injury. The procedure will likely put him out of the ring for the next 5-6 months. However, as the news circulated, many fans couldn’t restrain their emotions. A few promptly connected it to his recent loss.

READ: Canelo Alvarez set for surgery after Terence Crawford loss as return date is revealed

Canelo set for elbow surgery; comeback timeline unclear

“Canelo Alvarez is undergoing elbow surgery and will not return to the ring until mid-to-late 2026,” a post from Happy Punch read. He still has two more fights to fulfill under the Riyadh Season contract. So per the earlier schedule, the Mexican superstar was supposed to fight in February.

To set the record straight, hand injuries had been troubling Canelo for some time. They emerged after the Caleb Plant fight of 2021. Finally, a year later, following the trilogy bout against Gennady Golovkin, he underwent surgery to treat his wrist. Still, he returned for his regular Cinco de Mayo fixture opposite John Ryder.

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Let’s check what some of the users had to say.

All eyes on Stoic Canelo

To this fan, Canelo’s conduct deserved full respect. “Buddy fought Bivol and the 3rd fight with GGG with a bad wrist, got surgery after then fought Crawford with a bad elbow and didn’t complain. “Respect,” they said. While one may consider a fighter’s injury, timing it with a fight demands a hard look.

The next, however, brought home an emerging narrative: “Dude is a legend of this sport. People disregarding his entire career cause he lost to Crawford. Crazy…” Few would dispute that Terence Crawford stands at the center of boxing today. But to downplay Canelo’s contributions on the basis of a loss?

Another user connected the dots. “Well, that explains a lot as to why he wasn’t throwing any punches,” they said. To many fans, it may appear like hiding behind a bitter truth. Terence Crawford won the fight fair and square. Canelo Alvarez simply failed to reply when the Nebraskan raised some tough questions.

This fan echoed a sentiment that has been gaining traction. “Time to retire, my boi, and everyone knows Prime Canelo KOs Bud 🔥. “Easy work,” they said. Many have now started saying it openly. Considering the years he’s spent in boxing — the big fights and his achievements — there’s nothing much left for Canelo to prove.

Still, admiration for Canelo continued. This user said, “The fact that Canelo didn’t even bring this up and gave Crawford all the credit after the loss shows why he’s a legend. Most other guys would’ve instantly brought up an injury in the post-fight interviews. Canelo didn’t even mention or hint at it.”

But is it justified?

Barring a few rounds, Terence Crawford dominated the headliner at Allegiant Stadium. Canelo was the younger fighter facing a 38-year-old veteran who climbed up two weight classes. There’s no denying what Canelo has achieved and what he did for boxing over the years. But to associate his injury with his loss remains uncalled-for.

On September 29, news broke that Canelo Alvarez will need elbow surgery.

This news arrived a bit over two weeks after his iconic fight against Terence Crawford, in which Canelo lost his undisputed super middleweight belts to Crawford due to a unanimous decision defeat.

It’s currently unclear whether Canelo was dealing with this elbow injury heading into the fight or whether it was the result of something that happened during the 12 rounds. But typically, injuries occur during training camp leading up to the fight, so one would probably assume this elbow issue was something Canelo had been dealing with before he stepped into the ring.

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Mike Coppinger of The Ring provided an update on how this injury impacts Canelo’s future on September 29, saying, “Canelo was set to return in February, in Riyadh, for the third fight of [his four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh]. That fight is not going to be delayed until Q2 or Q3 of 2026, so Canelo is going to have the surgery, and then he’ll come back.”

Does Canelo’s Injury Impact Potential Terence Crawford Rematch?

There was no indication about who Canelo was supposed to be fighting in February, as this apparently hasn’t been figured out yet (or at least not publicly disclosed). However, most believe that the most likely fight for him right now is to rematch Crawford, if only because of how successful and lucrative their first bout was.

The good news is that Crawford is probably in no rush to return to the ring. His trainer, Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, said that Crawford is going to take the rest of the year off to recover and spend time with his family when speaking with Fight Hub TV during Crawford’s victory parade in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 27.

What’s more, Crawford has only fought once in a calendar year for every year since 2019. And every single one of those fights each year has taken place in August or later, with the majority being in November or December.

All of this is to say that Canelo’s injury and ensuing surgery will have no impact on him rematching Crawford. If anything, it’s going to make it so their timelines are more in sync with each other if they decide to run it back.

While no fighter ever enters a bout fully healthy, perhaps this elbow injury suggests Canelo wasn’t at full strength against Crawford. Regardless, the time off to rest and recover would do both guys well if they were to rematch in 2026.