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Angel Garcia Says Canelo Got It Right With Benavidez — And Wrong With Crawford

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Apratim Banerjee | Last updated Oct 12, 2025 4:28 PM ET

September 13 marked the third loss of Canelo Alvarez's professional boxing career as he was beaten by Terence Crawford via unanimous decision. Crawford jumped up two weight classes and against all the odds, dethroned the reigning undisputed champion of the division.

The defeat marked Canelo's first at 168 pounds. Many believe Alvarez didn't look his best against 'Bud' and Crawford definitely did amazingly well to make matters worse for the Mexican superstar.

For a long while, David Benavidez was seen as the man to hand Canelo his toughest challenge at 168 pounds, but the fight never took place and 'The Mexican Monster' made a move to light heavyweight. One trainer has now claimed that Canelo should have also avoided the risk of facing Crawford.

Canelo Alvarez given brutal verdict on Terence Crawford and David Benavidez

Angel Garcia, trainer and father of Danny Garcia, believes Canelo looked burnt out against Crawford. He pointed out that Canelo fought Edgar Berlanga in September 2024, William Scull in May 2025, and then Crawford last month.

He reckons the fights against Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol took a lot out of Canelo and he is now isn't the fighter he once was. Garcia also claimed that Canelo was smart to avoid Benavidez, but made a mistake by facing Crawford.

"Triple-G will hit you with that f***ing hook like that. Right on top of your skull. He hit Canelo with some s***.”

He added about Canelo not fighting Benavidez, "Well, Canelo was smart on that one, but he should’ve been smart with Terence Crawford. He shouldn’t have fought Terence Crawford.”

Canelo is now set to undergo an elbow surgery, meaning he will spend an extended period on the sidelines. Alvarez isn't expected to return before mid-2026, therefore a potential Crawford rematch will also have to wait. There's no clarity yet regarding Canelo's next career move.

David Benavidez doesn't think Canelo Alvarez took Terence Crawford seriously

Benavidez claimed that Canelo didn't take the fight as seriously as Crawford did, resulting in his defeat. He thinks Canelo's ego was too inflated and he thought Crawford would be a walk in the park.

"I think Crawford took it way more serious than Canelo. Which is kind of weird, because the amount of money that Canelo was making."David Benavidez

He added, "I'm not talking s*** about Canelo. It just didn't look like he really prepared 100%. He was throwing 10 punches a round. Or I think it was, his ego's that big, that he thinks, 'Oh, I'm just gonna walk through [Crawford], catch him with a good shot, and it's gonna be done.'"

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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