Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez are edging closer to their monumental showdown.
The pound-for-pound stars are just over one month away from doing battle for the undisputed super middleweight world championship on Saturday September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Canelo is set to defend his four belts 168lbs, just a few months on from defeating former IBF title holder William Scull to begin his second reign as undisputed champion.
‘Bud’ Crawford has spent his recent years at welterweight, although the 37-year-old from Omaha has had one outing at super welterweight last year when he outpointed former WBA champion Israil Madrimov in August of 2024.
Madrimov put an end to Crawford’s 11-fight knockout streak when they clashed at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, but suffered the first defeat of his professional career in the process.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Madrimov shared his thoughts on ‘Bud’ as a fighter, claiming there is ‘no doubting’ the unbeaten American’s skills and power.
“There’s no doubt on his power, there’s no doubt on his skills. I knew that and that’s why this fight was so close.”
However, Madrimov followed these comments up in an interview with Mill City Boxing, where he said the power of Crawford was ‘regular’ due to moving up in weight.
“It’s regular power because he’s a [smaller] weight going up. It’s normal, you know, his punch.”
Whilst he is faced with the toughest test of his career when he faces Canelo, ‘Bud’ could write his name into the boxing history books should he be victorious against the Mexican icon, as he sets his sights on becoming the first male three-weight undisputed champion in the modern era.
If he can do that by stoppage it would be an incredible feat given Canelo, who has never officially been knocked down, boasts one of the best chins in the business.