Canelo: Crawford fight ‘one of the biggest’ in boxing history
Canelo Alvarez said the planned September bout vs. Terence Crawford will be “one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.”
Visit SportsMania for more boxing news and updates.
Check out M88 Mansion’s best offers here.
Canelo says Crawford fight will be ‘one of the biggest’ in boxing history
Alvarez, 34, made these comments following Thursday’s news conference promoting his undisputed super middleweight championship fight against William Scull on May 3.
If Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) successfully defends his undisputed super middleweight championship against Scull, he will put his title on the line against Crawford in September in Las Vegas.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) made his 154-pound debut in August with a title-winning performance against Israil Madrimov.
At 37, he would move up two more weight classes for a clash with Canelo.
“Just look how much he’s accomplished and just look how much I accomplished,” said Alvarez.
“So imagine two fighters with those accomplishments. It’s huge. Huge.”
“And I think that’s why I think now it makes sense for a lot of reasons. Everybody says he’s a smaller fighter, but I’ve won titles in four weight classes, so I know great fighters can succeed at higher weights.”
Alvarez is ESPN’s No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer, while Crawford ranks No. 2.
The Mexican star believes a potential fight with Crawford could be even bigger than his 2013 bout against Floyd Mayweather.
“He’s a complete fighter,” Alvarez said of Crawford.
Focus on upcoming bout against Scull
For now, Alvarez is focused solely on Scull and his first fight outside North America.
The bout will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 4 to accommodate a Saturday evening broadcast for Canelo in North America during Cinco de Mayo weekend.
The boxing superstar holds the WBA, WBC and WBO titles at 168 pounds.
He was stripped of the IBF title in July.
That title was won by Cuba’s Scull via unanimous decision in October in Germany.
“It was a dream to fight in other countries,” Alvarez said. “.
“I feel at this moment in my career, I need that kind of motivation. … That’s the idea, to open doors in the whole world. And for [the Middle East] it’s important to have Latinos, too.”
