Last month, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) lost all of his super-middleweight titles to Terence “Bud” Crawford (42-0-0, 31 KOs) in a relatively one-sided bout. Especially notable is the fact that Crawford jumped up two (basically three) weight divisions for this monumental achievement. Canelo, gracious in defeat, has made no excuses following the loss, and though there have been murmurs of a rematch, no official announcements have been made.
It will all come down to Canelo’s motivation and whether he desires a rematch, which will not be as intriguing to the boxing public as the initial matchup was. There were many unknowns heading into the first fight, including whether Crawford would be able to handle Alvarez’s power, whether Crawford would have enough power himself at 168 lbs., and if both still had enough in the tank with them being in their mid and late thirties. With both coming off less-than-stellar performances, it was difficult to envision what things might look like on fight night. Many felt that it would come down to size when the fight was announced; however, the closer the fight was, the more people began to lean toward Crawford and his impressive boxing intellect.
All questions were answered as Crawford showed that he’s still plenty fresh and put on the extra weight fantastically, and Canelo showed that he still has trouble with boxers who are able to manage distance well. For all the talk during the buildup about how Canelo looked old and ineffective against Scull, he did not seem to have lost a step but was instead beaten to the punch, caught with off-rhythm shots, and unable to deal with the angles that Crawford was setting up. His hands were fast, and he was turning into the shots as well as he’s ever done, but Crawford simply proved too elusive a target. Crawford managed the range with his smart feet and used his lead hand perfectly to prevent Canelo from setting up power shots and landing cleanly.
Canelo, somewhat puzzlingly, never attempted to find his jab, which would’ve at least allowed him to compete with Bud in the battle for distance control. Though he was outclassed, he did manage to show his heart by continuing to throw power shots and press forward, even though Crawford often walked him into shots from odd angles. Even late in the fight, Canelo made hard presses at a few points, but each time, he was met with extended, blistering combinations in retaliation. By the end of the night, Canelo was a beaten man, and he knew it. No excuses were given, and there was no post-fight controversy. The result was cut and dry.
Weeks after the fight, it was announced that Canelo would undergo elbow surgery, which may be the result of overextending for shots that never found a home. Whatever the case, there’s been no speculation that he entered the fight with an injured elbow, as it seems to be accepted by most that his ailment was a result of the fight.
There are a great many options for both fighters moving forward, should they choose to proceed with their boxing careers. Crawford can drop down to 160 or 154 and shoot for undisputed in either division, and, assuming he doesn’t get old within the next couple of years, would be likely to master another division. Canelo could take a money fight with just about anyone if he still has the will to fight on, or he can choose to pursue a rematch with Crawford to try for a better outcome.
Concerning a possible rematch, Crawford’s trainer, Brian “Bo-Mac” McIntyre, has asserted that Canelo would not be interested in one because of how comfortably his fighter defeated him in the initial fight. This is a safe assumption, but not a bulletproof one. Although you’d be hard-pressed to find a knowledgeable boxing fan who would argue that Canelo is capable of competing with Crawford in terms of ring IQ, he is still no slouch when it comes to boxing smarts. Historically, he has bounced back from losses with a few new tools or a new outlook. Though he lost a one-sided match to Floyd Mayweather Jr., he was able to take the lesson from the schooling and become a much more cerebral fighter. After his first fight against Golovkin, which many agree he should have lost, he bounced back with a more refined style of aggression. There wasn’t much to take away from the Bivol loss except that Canelo was already pushing it at 168 lbs., and that rangy fighters with smart feet will always be a problem for him.
If he chooses to continue on, he will likely go back to the drawing board with his team, and one of the big takeaways will surely be that neglecting the jab was the beginning of the end. Without the jab, Crawford had all the time in the world to pick the perfect shots and to keep Canelo blind and guessing.
They would also be wise to work on mixing lateral movement with forward pressure due to Crawford’s primarily southpaw stance. In exchanges, Crawford often took a wide stance with his upper body pulled back and off the center line, shooting long-range shots while in the pocket (high IQ), because he knew that Canelo would overextend rather than step around.
Crawford will obviously adjust as well, but perhaps if Canelo is able to make it a little more competitive, he’ll gain back some of the prestige that came with his refinement after the loss to Mayweather Jr. Already, the casual boxing fan has stated that Alvarez was never that good to begin with, without considering that two of his three losses were to generational fighters. Diminishing Canelo’s accomplishments and ability because he was beaten by one of the smartest fighters we’re likely ever to see would also diminish Crawford’s greatness.
Lastly, is there a way for Canelo to rebound completely and elevate his legacy with a rematch? In this writer’s opinion, that would only come via a knockout of Terence Crawford, which is harder to imagine than a fighter jumping three weight classes to defeat the undisputed champion in his first fight there.