The potential fight in September between Saul Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford could become one of the most interesting fights of the last decade.
The year 2025 began with a series of exciting developments for all boxing fans due to the good number of fights that could take place throughout these 12 months, which have been awaited for some years, and one of those fights is Canelo facing Crawford, the website essentiallysports.com reported.
Alalshikh’s intervention for the Canelo vs Crawford fight
Arab sheikh Turki Alalshikh has all the credit if this fight goes ahead, as it is said that in the past few days he held a meeting with Canelo himself to talk business and a multi-million dollar purse to acquire the rights to the Mexican’s next fights.
Alalshikh and Canelo reportedly reached an agreement to stage the fight against Crawford in mid-December, as part of the celebrations for Mexico’s Independence Day.
However, the biggest question is not the fight itself, but the weight difference between the two fighters.
Several experts in the boxing world, and even some former world champions such as Mike Tyson, are wondering what the southpaw from Alabama will have to do to match Canelo’s weight, two categories above and a difference of 14 pounds between them.
A former champion opposes the fight due to weight differences
Mikey Garcia, who is the younger brother of Ring Magazine’s “Manager of the Year” winner Robert Garcia, was one such skeptic.
The former featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight and super lightweight champion told Fight Hub TV that he did not fully support the fight, despite being one of the most desired by fans of the sport.
“I’m not a big fan of that fight,” Garcia said, highlighting the weight difference between the Mexican and the American, and remembered how Crawford suffered against Israel Madrimov after moving up to 154 pounds, three categories.
Despite Crawford’s seemingly superior skills, Garcia believes that size difference will be the deciding factor in a potential matchup. The Mexican fighter’s power and size will likely give him the edge.
“That’s why I’m not a fan of that fight. I think Crawford has accomplished everything he had to accomplish, from 140 to 147 and now 154. That’s even bigger for him,” Garcia added.
If Crawford really wants to push himself, he could go the route of an undisputed fight in his current division, he opined. However, there is a problem: “But there’s no money in that.”
Garcia acknowledged that a fight between Canelo and Crawford would generate substantial revenue, but as a fan of the fights, he is not in favor of the matchup, as he said he would prefer to see Alvarez face fighters within his weight class or higher, such as Artur Beterbiev or a rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
“He wanted to challenge himself, to go up to 175 again and challenge himself against those fighters, and not a smaller guy going up in weight,” Garcia explained.