Canelo Vs. Crawford – Who Has A Better Resume?

Canelo Alvarez takes on Terence Crawford on September 13 in their undisputed super middleweight title clash, as we look at their resumes. 

Canelo turned professional at 15, stopping 11 out of his first 13 opponents. He has developed into one of the best boxers of all time, winning belts in four weight classes under the tutelage of Eddy Reynoso. Canelo secured his first world title in 2011 when he took on Matthew Hatton for the WBC Junior Middleweight Belt. Canelo secured a unanimous decision to win the title.

Further success followed with belts at middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight. With 67 pro fights, Canelo’s only losses have come against Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather. Canelo has beaten other big names such as Gennadiy Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, and Jermell Charlo. He is the current Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion, having beaten William Scull in his last fight. 

Crawford is undefeated with a 41-0 record, with 31 KOs to his name. He made his professional debut in 2008, going on to win belts in four weight classes, ranging from 135 to 154 pounds. He has been undisputed at 140 and 147. Bud has big wins against Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter, Amir Khan and Israil Madrimov. Crawford’s best performance was the Spence win, having dropped him three times to get a ninth-round stoppage. His last fight was a win over Israil Madrimov, which earned him the WBA championship at 154 pounds. However, at 37, can Crawford pull off his best win? 

Who Wins?

Teddy Atlas believes there’s a chance Crawford could pull off an upset. The challenge for Crawford will be adapting to the heavier weight, a hurdle that proved difficult for Jermell Charlo when he moved up from 154 pounds to fight Canelo. Charlo appeared slower and lacked his usual power in that bout, ultimately suffering a decisive unanimous decision loss. Crawford’s recent performance against Madrimov showed some vulnerability, as he absorbed several clean blows. Some even felt Crawford had lost the fight. Despite the size disadvantage for Crawford, Atlas sees a way in which Crawford can hand Canelo a surprising defeat.

“If the smaller man’s going to win this fight he’s going to negate the power of the bigger man and he’s going to find a way to make his skill sets the most important in this fight. I look forward to it. You can make an argument for both guys. The smaller man may have his day with a bigger man,” Atlas said