Canelo and Crawford agree to fight in September in Las Vegas

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford have reportedly agreed to fight in September in Las Vegas. Last Saturday, unified middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KO) met Turki Al-Sheikh in London.

“Sources close to the process told me that an agreement has already been reached that Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will face each other in September of this year in Las Vegas. #CaneloCrawford,” Julius Julianis said. X.

It’s a smart move on Canelo’s part to fight Crawford in September because he’ll be fighting him after a very long absence. Budd, a Nebraska native, has not fought since his narrow victory over WBA junior middleweight champion Israel Madrimov on August 3.

Age and inactivity

Crawford is unlikely to have a high-stakes fight before his September bout against Canelo. Also, Crawford will turn 38 on September 28. So, Canelo will further age him by making him wait a little longer before he gets his degree. Golden umbrella Retirement payday battle against him.

It’s only four months from May to September, but it can be a lifetime when a person approaches 40, like Crawford. We’ve all seen that people age dramatically when they reach 38, and it’s not pretty. Crawford may not matter. He’ll be happy to get the payday.

Julianis adds that both fighters will have tentative fights, but Crawford may choose not to. He didn’t look good against Madrimov. Even against an opponent who is an average 154-pounder, he would likely struggle due to the size, youth, and strength of anyone he fought. Madrimov was tearing holes in Crawford in that fight.

Ideally, Crawford should take a corresponding fight at 168 to get his feet wet in this division before the Canelo fight. Again, this is very risky. 37-year-old Terrence has been very inactive since 2020, fighting once a year and only facing a quality guy, Madrimov, to whom he almost lost.

Canelo is likely to have a unification fight against IBF super middleweight champion William Skull (23-0, 9 KOs) in May on Cinco de Mayo weekend. This would allow Canelo to become a two-time undisputed champion at the age of 168. This is a big deal.

Crawford will have to rally his weight to have a chance against Canelo. He looked weak, old and small in front of Madrimov.

For fans who remember how Crawford looked in his fights at 147 against Errol Spence, David Shawn Porter and Agent Brock, he doesn’t look like that anymore. Terrence is getting older, and he’s not helping himself by enjoying the fruits of his labor by only fighting once a year.

This is the big fight that boxing fans and Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) have been clamoring for. Now, it looks like he’s here.