Canelo Alvarez was cheered loudly, while his opponent, Terence Crawford, was heavily booed, during today’s Grand Arrivals in Las Vegas for their headliner this Saturday, September 13th.
Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) was well-dressed, looking sharp, in excellent condition, letting the crowd know that this is one of the biggest fights of his career, defending his undisputed super middleweight championship against Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) at Allegiant Stadium.
Cheers and Jeers
If the booing of Crawford today was any indication, on Saturday night, it could be deafening. That’s a good reason why Crawford needs to make sure he comes to fight and not run all night. Host Max Kellerman asked that question of Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, and he deflected it, saying, “Does he look like he’s going to run?”
Recycled Narrative
“Is this the biggest fight of your career?” said host Max Kellerman, asking Canelo the same tired, recycled question that has been requested of him repeatedly during the build-up for his fight against Crawford.
“It’s one of the biggest,” said Canelo.
Alvarez has fought bigger names than Crawford during his career, and he fought them when they were younger than him. Gennadiy Golovkin, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Shawn Porter, Miguel Cotto, and Sergey Kovalev.
“You are the last two standing from that era, right?” said Kellerman about Canelo and Crawford being older fighters from another era.
“Riyadh Season, Netflix, you can see how big this fight is,” said Canelo. “You have two of the best pound-for-pound fighters fighting each other. On Saturday, September 13th, we’re going to see who is the best.”
The Power of Promotion
- Netflix
- Huge promotion: Turki Alalshikh has spent a fortune promoting this event and paying the massive purses for Canelo and Crawford. While the undercard is filled with prospects, there was still a lot of money poured into the top two guys on the card.
More than a Minor Footnote
Canelo’s undisputed super middleweight championship being at stake is more of a minor footnote compared to the interest from fans in the match-up. Crawford hasn’t been a big name during his career, but with the promotion and the buzz from the media, it’s gotten fans excited. It’s the herd mentality.
“During your whole career, you’ve taken big risks. That’s why when no one would fight GGG, you would, because you’ve always been taking big risks,” said Kellerman. “This is a big risk fight. You can’t afford to lose to a little guy. Do you want to tell them [the crowd] to reassure them?”
Canelo hasn’t taken risks during his whole career. There are several fighters that he never fought, whom fans wished he would. These are a few:
- David Benavidez
- Demetrius Andrade
- David Morrell
- Jermall Charlo: When he was still in his prime
- Artur Beterbiev
Booing’s Potential Impact
“It’s cool. I’ve been booed before. Listen, they can’t fight for him. So, it don’t matter,” said Terence Crawford during today’s Grand Arrivals in Las Vegas for his fight against Canelo Alvarez this Saturday night.
The booing likely won’t play a factor in the outcome on Saturday unless it motivates Crawford not to run. What could affect the outcome is the cheering that Canelo will be receiving from fans.
If the judges are hearing the crowd’s applause each time Alvarez lands, it could work in his favor with the scoring. Then there’s the motivation part. Canelo has stamina problems, but if the crowd is cheering for him, that could give him the energy he needs to fight through his fatigue.
“When they say you’re going to run, what are you going to tell them?” said commentator Max Kellerman.
“I’ve already said it before. I said, ‘I’m going to run upside his head,'” said Crawford, repeating what he’d said to Canelo during the New York press conference on Sunday, June 22, 2025. “Come Saturday, you’re going to be crying like I said,” said Terence in giving a comment to the booing crowd.
