Following the two failed attempts by former champions to bridge a two-division jump and defeat undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, four-division champion Terence Crawford will shoot his shot in their September 13 clash at Allegiant Stadium.
Clearly, it’s going to take a special plan from a special fighter to change the storyline, and if anyone is up for it, Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), is the best man for the job.
What Crawford, 37, and his team are plotting is secret, but hints of the fight plan are in plain sight – even to Alvarez, 63-2-2 (39 KOs), whose trainer, Eddy Reynoso, spoke to BoxingScene on the matter Saturday night while watching the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr fight in Anaheim, California.
Before his 168lbs debut, we know Crawford has only fought once at 154lbs, where he defeated then-WBA champion Israil Madrimov by a narrow unanimous decision in Los Angeles in August 2024.
That extended ring absence provides Crawford ample time to inflate up to 168lbs, but Crawford has seen the perils in that – knowing that former undisputed 154lbs champion bulked up to 168 to fight Alvarez in 2023, only to perform flat and express no interest in toe-to-toe fighting after getting decked in the seventh round.
While the younger former 154lbs champion Jaime Munguia performed more effectively last year versus countryman Alvarez, he also went down (in round four) and didn’t display the legs – even at age 27 – to threaten Canelo in the second half of the fight.
Crawford has certainly digested this, and with the wizardry of trainer Brian McIntyre and conditioning consultant Victor Conte, the method of remaining faster than Alvarez while maintaining the double-handed power that had Crawford stand as perhaps the fiercest, most effective finishers of his generation.
Alvarez certainly senses what is coming, telling Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh that he needs to ensure “a smaller ring” is used September 13 after Cuba’s William Scull ran and sucked the life out of their May meeting in Saudi Arabia.
That’s not saying the expectation is for Crawford to high-tail away from Alvarez throughout their bout, but by emphasizing fitness rather than bulk, the added space will certainly help.
“Crawford’s one of the greatest fighters in boxing history. Of course, he has a plan,” Reynoso said. “We’re going to train hard because we know what kind of fighter he is. And we’re going to beat him.”
Alvarez has let seven fights go by without posting his 40th knockout. He last stopped Caleb Plant in 2021.
Reynoso was asked if, in this monstrous NFL venue on Netflix, if his fighter can deliver a signature finish against a certain Hall of Famer.
“We’re going to knock him out, no problem,” Reynoso said. “I promise.”
