Terence Crawford has already done enough to etch his name into boxing’s history books, but he insists Saturday night in Las Vegas offers something greater – a chance to secure his place among the all-time greats.
The unbeaten American steps up two divisions to challenge Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight crown at Allegiant Stadium, a fight he calls the sport’s biggest in “probably a decade.”
For Crawford, who has already unified at 140 and 147 pounds, victory would make him the first male boxer to be undisputed in three weight classes.
“Pre-Canelo fight, I’m already a Hall of Famer, first ballot,” Crawford said. “Defeating Canelo Alvarez makes me one of the all-time greats. This is the one.”
At 37, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is facing his toughest challenge yet, taking on the 34-year-old Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs), who holds all four belts at 168 pounds. The bout, streamed live on Netflix, lands on Mexican Independence Day weekend, ensuring a partisan crowd inside the 65,000-seat stadium. Crawford, though, dismissed the atmosphere. “I’ve been in hostile territory before. They can’t fight for him,” he said.
Alvarez, one of boxing’s most decorated champions, carries experience and power. Crawford counters with footwork, timing, and a belief that history is on his side. “Canelo is very experienced. I’m very experienced as well. The best man is going to win,” he said.
Oddsmakers have Alvarez the slight favorite (-175), but Crawford has thrived in this position before. Two summers ago, he dismantled Errol Spence Jr. in a long-awaited welterweight showdown, dropping him three times en route to a ninth-round stoppage to become the first four-belt champion at two weights.
Now, with no other worthy opponents at 147 or 154, Crawford said moving up was inevitable. “Who else is there for a mega fight?” he asked. “When you think of a mega fight, it’s only Canelo.”
Crawford’s rise from Omaha’s rough streets to the sport’s pinnacle has been as unlikely as it is inspiring. Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule this week even told his players to “Be Like Bud,” highlighting Crawford’s discipline and resilience as a model.
For Crawford, those hardships shaped his edge. “All those hardships are what made the man you see today,” he said. “To capture that victory and that magnitude, it’s going to be so good.”
Whether he dethrones Alvarez or not, Crawford knows the fight is more than just another night in the ring. “This is the greatest of all the fights I’ve fought,” he said. “It’s legacy. It’s history. It’s everything.”
