Canelo vs. Crawford: A Record-Breaking Fight With Unexpected Bumps

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford broke several boxing records, but not everything went to plan. 

The fight, which saw Crawford become a three-weight undisputed champion, also made its mark on the record books. The live gate for the event reached $47,231,887, making it the third-highest-grossing boxing gate in history. It falls just behind the two highest-grossing fights, both featuring Floyd Mayweather Jr.—his 2015 bout against Manny Pacquiao and his 2017 crossover fight against Conor McGregor.

The Event

The event’s attendance was also historic. With 70,482 fans packed into Allegiant Stadium, it became the largest crowd to ever attend a sporting event at the venue. This also makes it the second-largest indoor boxing crowd in U.S. history, a record that surpasses the Muhammad Ali vs. Leon Spinks II rematch.

The broadcast, however, was plagued with technical issues. Many viewers took to social media to report a variety of problems, including audio headaches, buffering, and poor video quality. This mirrored the complaints from Netflix’s previous major boxing event, the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, which also suffered from similar streaming woes. The failures suggest that Netflix, despite its experience with on-demand content, still has a way to go in perfecting its infrastructure. 

Another major failure was the event’s poor time management. The undercard fights ran significantly behind schedule, creating long delays and frustrating fans who were waiting for the main event. This lack of a structured, on-time broadcast is a stark contrast to the UFC’s model, where events typically run on a very predictable schedule, meaning there are still things Netflix can improve on. Despite those issues, Netflix has said over 41 million watched the fight.

“Over 41 million global viewers watched #CaneloCrawford on Netflix, making it the most-viewed men’s championship boxing match this century,” Netflix said