A couple of years ago, during a visit in San Diego, I asked Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez what he thought of Terence Crawford calling himself the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.
Crawford had mentioned that Canelo had lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. early in his career and had avoided some tough rivals, especially Black fighters who “would be complicated for his style.”
The Mexican champion‘s response was very clear and questioned the quality of fighter that Crawford had faced in his own career.
Esaú Diéguez has been in Terence Crawford’s corner since the boxer was a teenager in Nebraska.
“I have fought a lot and I have fought against the best. I haven’t run from anybody and people should look at his [Crawford] record. He hasn’t fought anyone,” said Canelo in 2021.
That changed on Saturday, when Crawford beat Errol Spence Jr. in one of the most anticipated fights of the last decade.
Canelo himself was impressed and tweeted out his congratulations to Crawford, whom he called a “great fighter.”
Crawford put on an exhibition against the undefeated Spence to become the first undisputed welterweight champion in the four belts era and solidified his spot as one the best fighters of his generation.
“I think tonight demonstrated how great I am,” said Crawford. “The winner of this fight was going to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. You had two fighters in the top five of most lists. How can the winner not be No. 1.”
While Crawford’s win should put him at the top of most lists, how does his dominance compare to Canelo’s recent run?
We will see. Before Saturday’s win, I had asked Crawford how he compares with Canelo.
“I have been dominant my entire career. Canelo has been dominant to a certain degree. He lost against Floyd Mayweather and he lost against Dmitry Bivol,” Crawford said.
What Crawford failed to mention is that he hasn’t faced anyone on the same level as Mayweather, who was the clear pound-for-pound choice when Canelo faced him at 23 years old in 2013. Crawford hasn’t taken as many risks as Canelo, who gave up some of his advantages by moving up in weight to take on Bivol in 2022.
Canelo’s resume is beyond reproach. He has won titles in four weight classes and cleaned out the super middleweight category after beating Billy Joe Saunders, Caleb Plant and Callum Smith. And he is the only fighter in history to become the undisputed super middleweight champion.
His only recent blemish has been his loss to Bivol, but Canelo deserves credit for moving uponce again to take on the bigger rival.
And, for better or worse, Canelo continues to be the face of boxing who generates the most money and interest from the casual boxing fan.
“I think Canelo has been better. He has done some big things in boxing, he’s been at 154, 160, 175 [pounds]. He is the one that brings in the most money,” said Spence before Saturday’s fight.
There are other names that could be considered close to the level of Crawford and Canelo. Noaya Inoue, Olesandr Usyk and Gevonte Davis. But Crawford and Canelo seem to be the only ones that would threaten the title of “best of a generation,” similar to the dominance shown by Mayweather in the previous decade.
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