Oscar De La Hoya speaks about boxer Jamie Munguia (center) about the Munguia v Ryder main event during a press conference for Golden Boy boxing event on Jan. 25, 2024. Patrick Breen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oscar De La Hoya Names 'Superior' Fighter Between Terence Crawford And Floyd Mayweather

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Grant Young | Last updated Sep 21, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford cemented himself as one of the greatest boxers this century after his September 13 victory over Canelo Alvarez.

While Crawford already had an impeccable resumé before this fight, the fact that he dominated Canelo (who is another inarguably pound-for-pound great in the modern era) for 12 rounds on one of the biggest stages in boxing history and became the first male boxer to be an undisputed champion in three different weight classes places him in rarefied air.

In fact, the only other modern boxer who can match Crawford's resumé (at least when it comes to his undefeated 42-0 record) is Floyd "Money" Mayweather, who won 15 major world championships across five weight classes and finished his career with a 50-0 record.

After losing to Crawford, Canelo (who is the only man to have fought both him and Mayweather) said, "I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather."

This comment from Canelo has sparked a debate among the boxing community about whether Crawford is truly better than Mayweather. While nobody would know better than Canelo, his stance has created a lot of conflicting opinions and dissension about not only whether Crawford or Mayweather has the better resumé, but which of them would win if they had fought in their respective primes.

Oscar De La Hoya Weighs In on Terence Crawford, Floyd Mayweather Debate

Mexican boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya is great at making strong claims that keep him in the headlines. And given that he fought (and lost) to Mayweather in his career, it was always going to be interesting to see what he thought about this Crawford debate.

De La Hoya gave his full opinion during a September 20 interview with FightHype, when he said, "I have to disagree [with Canelo], because Floyd Mayweather toyed with Canelo. He literally toyed with him. He didn't get hit at all, he didn't get hit at all, not one time," when asked who would win between Crawford and Mayweather.

"And Crawford — yeah, he's more of a fighter, boxer. Mayweather is more of a boxer — but I have to disagree. I think Mayweather is much more superior than Crawford," De La Hoya continued. "Not just because he beat me... but I really feel that technically, Mayweather is a better fighter."