Canelo Alvarez is scheduled to take on Terence Crawford on September 13.

Initially, the fight was announced for September 12 with the venue being Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

However, Turki Alalshikh later postponed it by a day with a venue is yet to be announced. Rumors are percolating regarding the potential location, with some assuming the fight could shift to Saudi Arabia.

READ: (VIDEO) Why Canelo is tipped to retire before Crawford fight

Alvarez, however, has dropped a major hint on the location in a recent interview, and has seemingly confirmed where the fight will take place. When asked whether the fight would still take place in Las Vegas, Alvarez said:

We’re still working on it.

He added:

We’re going to do our best for the fight because it’s going to be a big one and people need to enjoy it. Las Vegas. Of course, there’s no better weekend than Mexican Independence Day weekend.

The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas has historically hosted the biggest fights in the United States. Alvarez, though, didn’t confirm a particular venue for the fight. However, judging by the Mexican’s words at the MiChante Foundation Golf tournament, Las Vegas appears to be the city Canelo wants the fight to happen in.

Canelo Alvarez is the current undisputed super middleweight champion, becoming so for the second time with his win against William Scull on May 3. Terence Crawford, meanwhile, is moving up two weight divisions to challenge Canelo’s throne. Crawford’s last fight was at 154 lbs against Israil Madrimov.

Canelo Alvarez will either retire before facing Terence Crawford or immediately after, despite an ongoing deal with Turki Alalshikh.

Friend and former on-off promoter Eddie Hearn believes Alvarez’s days in the sport are numbered.

Canelo signed a four-fight deal with Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season earlier this year. However, one bout in, Hearn can see the novelty wearing off.

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The Matchroom boss believes a confirmed undisputed super middleweight title defense against Crawford may never happen as problems over the staging persist.

However, Hearn says any reversal will be performance-related as the Mexican superstar’s powers are fading fast.

In his last fight against William Scull, the 34-year-old couldn’t get his punches off and labored to a unanimous decision. He entered the record books for the fewest combined punches thrown in a twelve-round contest.

“A little bit, yeah,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV. “It wasn’t just the fact that he couldn’t cut the ring off.

“I just feel like the timing now, the age. Canelo is amazing, not only because of his ability and what he has accomplished, but the fact that he still has the desire for those training camps and those fights. But I just feel like that desire might be fading a little bit.

“Not because of his love for boxing, but just because of age and life. Don’t get me wrong, the Crawford fight will definitely get him up for it. But I was actually watching that fight (Scull), thinking I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired and didn’t fight Crawford.

“I don’t think he will want to lose to Crawford, a much smaller guy, just because he is at the end of the road. But the fight is so big and the money is so big that he will have to take it.”

On if Canelo would continue after Crawford, Hearn added, “I bet he retires after that fight. Why would you carry on? You fight Crawford, who else is there for Canelo Alvarez to fight?

“Maybe David Benavidez, but the size of Benavidez. Is Benevidez going to come back to 168?

“Again, the same thing. I don’t think Canelo will want to lose to Benevidez because he is not the fighter he was. There is a lot of pride for those guys.”

Canelo vs Crawford

Alalshikh has Canelo vs. Crawford scheduled for September 13 at a venue to be determined. In a stunning timeline of changes, Alalshikh has already altered the event’s date, venue, and promoter.

The winner will walk out as undisputed champion. Alvarez will reportedly trade blows with Chris Eubank Jr. in London before a rematch with Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight, with two fights left on his contract.

Hearn doesn’t believe the four-weight titleholder will get that far. The Essex man becomes the second promoter in days to pour cold water on the state of Canelo’s career.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum stated that Alvarez is no longer entertaining and coasting through fights rather than engaging his opponent.

Both believe Canelo’s next fight will have a pivotal effect on his future.

The biggest fight that will take place on the boxing calendar for the rest of this year is the mid-September showdown between pound-for-pound greats Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

Given that Crawford and Canelo have undoubtedly been two of the world’s best boxers for the last decade, there is a ton of interest and intrigue about how this fight is going to play out. Many fans feel like Crawford, despite being the older boxer by a few years, is the fresher one between them, and will have a speed advantage during the bout that Canelo won’t be able to keep up with.

But there’s also the unavoidable fact that Crawford is moving up several weight classes in order to fight Canelo. Therefore, with Canelo being the bigger and stronger fighter, he’ll have a clear advantage in that regard. And as the popular saying goes, there are weight classes for a reason.

READ: Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Could this be the final fight of a legend?

With so many different variables at play, it was always going to be fascinating to see what the betting odds for Canelo vs Crawford looked like.

And on May 21, DraftKings Sportsbook revealed its early odds for this fight. They currently have Canelo as a -195 favorite in this bout, with Crawford being a +155 underdog. In addition, Canelo is +330 to win by a stoppage and +115 to win by Decision or Technical Decision, while Crawford is +225 to win by Decision or Technical Decision and +850 to win by KO/TKO/DQ.

These betting odds could be raising red flags for Canelo fans, as he has never been this low of a favorite since he was a +150 underdog against Gennadiy Golovkin back in September 2018. Canelo ultimately won that fight, and hasn’t been an underdog (or this small of a favorite) since, according to ProBoxingOdds.

Then again, this may be good news for Canelo fans because if they’re convinced he’s going to beat Crawford, they’ll get more bang for their buck on a bet.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Canelo Alvarez has built one of the most decorated careers in boxing history, but his recent performances have stirred speculation about an impending retirement.

In his latest bout against William Scull in Saudi Arabia, the Mexican star secured a unanimous decision win.

At 35 years old, Canelo is preparing for what could be one of the most anticipated and defining fights of his career. On September 13, he will face the undefeated Terence Crawford (41-0), a matchup that might mark his final appearance in the ring.

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This fight is part of the four-bout deal he signed with Riyadh Season and Turki Al-Sheikh, yet his underwhelming showing against Scull has fueled doubts about whether Canelo can continue competing at the sport’s highest level.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has been among the most vocal figures suggesting that Canelo may be preparing for retirement. In a recent press conference, Hearn commented candidly on the Mexican’s future:

“I think the fight with Crawford will be his last fight. There is no official word, and I haven’t spoken to him directly, but after seeing the fight with David Avanesyan, who was incredibly negative—after Crawford, what else is there?” He said.

Does Canelo even want this fight?

There are growing indications that Canelo was not particularly eager to face Crawford. Some reports suggest that the Mexican champion never truly viewed it as a legacy-defining bout, considering Crawford’s rise from lighter weight divisions.

“He’s never really liked the fight because I think he thinks, ‘Why would I get credit for beating someone three divisions below—two divisions now?’” Hearn explained. “Crawford moves well, he’s tricky, and it’s going to be difficult. But obviously, the money is massive, so Canelo will take the fight. I think it’s the training camps that will eventually push him to retire—it’s a huge strain on the body.”

Canelo: A legacy on the line

Regardless of motivations, the clash between Canelo and Crawford is poised to be a pivotal moment in modern boxing. Whether it becomes the final chapter of Canelo’s illustrious journey or merely another milestone depends on both the outcome and how Canelo feels when the final bell rings.

This year’s most intriguing matchup is now about four months away, with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) set to face Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0-0, 31 KOs) in a clash at 168 lbs.

Both fighters are coming off of fights that presented unforeseen challenges in different ways. For Canelo, he faced a fighter who was unwilling to engage for the duration of the bout, while Crawford seemed to have difficulty adjusting to a heavier division, where his punches didn’t carry the same kind of venom that they did at 147.

scar De La Hoya has framed this match as a battle between two shot fighters, probably because he has no dog in the fight. However, both fighters have been judged somewhat harshly for their most recent performances.

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When Canelo faced Scull, Scull was content to strafe, backpedal, and leap backwards in order to avoid engaging with his opponent. In the few instances where Canelo was actually able to catch up to Scull, his punches looked as sharp and powerful as they’ve looked in other recent fights. One valid knock against Alvarez is that he can be discouraged when things aren’t going his way. Though he never seemed to lose control of the fight, he did seem to lose the motivation to try to track his man down and put him out.

For most of the fight, he was content to simply pressure Scull while remaining within his comfort zone and racking up points with his aggression. One fight that viewers can contrast this effort with is Naoya Inoue’s fight against Paul Butler. Rather than concede that he would be unable to catch someone who was single-mindedly dedicated to surviving on fight night, Inoue tried everything he could think of to get to Butler. He tried cutting off the ring, giving ground, and taunting before eventually deciding to throw caution to the wind and go in for the kill a little more recklessly, ultimately ending the fight. For all of Canelo’s greatness, in his fights against Mayweather, Bivol, and Scull, when he was unable to find success with the tools in his toolbox, he never tried thinking outside of the box.

While many have focused on how Crawford may be able to find success by using his feet to stay out of range, Crawford will be 38 by the time they fight in September. Additionally, Crawford has rarely gotten on his bicycle throughout his career, even less so in the later stages of it. Crawford and BoMac have likely spent a lot of time working on ways to frustrate Canelo, who does tend to stick to the same handful of combinations.

Granted, Canelo usually finds great ways to get those combinations off when combined with his steady pressure and responsible defense while moving in. In Crawford’s most recent fight, he won a gritty decision against Israil Madrimov. Many people focused on Crawford’s lack of ability to hurt Madrimov, which is a valid concern considering he’ll need to jump up two more weight classes to face off against arguably the best chin in boxing. The other thing people fixated on was how many punches he threw and failed to land.

He threw 433 punches and landed only 95 of them, achieving 22% punch accuracy over 12 rounds to win the fight. The prevailing opinion tended to be that Crawford is getting older and less effective, but the more likely explanation is that, as the smaller man coming up to face a champion in a new weight class, Crawford needed to throw a lot more punches to keep the bigger guy off of him. Rather than a ping against him, this should be seen as an adjustment that he made to earn a tough victory.

That being said, come September, Crawford will have his hands full against the relentless pressure that will be coming from a naturally much larger man in Canelo, who has proven that even as a small 168 lb. fighter, his power is still enough to rattle opponents who regularly weigh around 15 lbs more than him on fight night. People who back Crawford tend to believe that the deciding factor will be Crawford’s ring IQ, often claiming that it will be a performance akin to Mayweather’s masterclass against a much younger Canelo. Canelo’s fans push back by asserting that Canelo has grown tremendously since that fight, which would be foolish to deny. But just how skilled is Crawford? The answer is, skilled enough to dispel the old adage that “a good big man always beats a good little man” in the minds of the boxing public.

The fact that this fight’s possible outcome is being debated so fiercely indicates enormous respect for Bud’s mastery of his craft. Although Crawford’s level of skill has rarely been seen, people shouldn’t discount Canelo’s ring IQ in addition to his imposing physical ability. It can take years to fully adjust to increased muscle mass. It will be interesting to see how Crawford is able to handle power shots from someone who has been campaigning three weight classes higher than him for a considerable amount of time.

Despite Crawford being taller and having longer arms, Canelo’s frame is much more robust and might prove to be impervious to the naturally smaller man’s best shots. Conversely, Crawford is uniquely physically strong, with a background in wrestling, and incredible athleticism. The natural inclination would be to pick Canelo to win due to his size advantage in addition to being a great boxer himself, but with so many oddball factors, the matchup remains incredibly intriguing and worthy of discussion. Both fighters have strong fan bases and even crossover among fans that is sure to attract a sizable audience. This appears to be a great chance for boxing to make good on its promise to entertain if both fighters show up on fight night.

Eddie Hearn has claimed that Terence Crawford might use Dmitry Bivol’s strategy against Canelo Alvarez.

By all accounts Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford should be a fight of the year contender, as it features two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport who both boast exceptional records.

Crawford is 41-0-0 with 31 knockout wins under his belt. As for Alvarez, he is 63-2-2. Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol are the only two men to defeat him, with Bivol edging him out in May 2022 at light heavyweight.

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Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn, though, thinks Terence Crawford can replicate the type of challenge that Dmitry Bivol did against Alvarez. Speaking to Chris Mannix, Hearn said:

I don’t think it’s not dissimilar to the Dmitry Bivol fight in the sense of how Crawford could box in that fight [against Canelo]. He’s got the ability to keep him off, show angles, and then a spurt of aggressiveness to do enough to reset I think he can back him up. I don’t think he can stop him, well, Bivol didn’t have to stop him.

Eddie Hearn further added that Alvarez’s performance against William Scull has got him doubting the Mexican. He said:

I was really leaning towards Canelo Alvarez before Saturday (against Scull). Look, you can’t take too much from it, but, the thing is about Terence, he has unbelievable self-belief.

Terence Crawford has the skills to fight any style and get the job done. However, Canelo Alvarez was the smaller man going into the Dmitry Bivol fight as he moved up in weight. Crawford will need to move up not one, but two weight classes to fight Canelo.

How he responds to Alvarez’s power could be a key decider in the contest.

People are switching sides from Canelo Alvarez to Terence Crawford in droves, picking Crawford to win their September 12th fight in Las Vegas.

Unified super middleweight champion Canelo looked old, flat-footed, and slow in his win over IBF champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh.

What was really telling was how Canelo, 34, threw only 152 punches in the entire fight. That’s not just because of Scull’s movement. Trainer Robert Garcia is the latest person to go from picking Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) to now leaning toward Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) winning. Robert saw what we all did with Alvarez, showing signs of deterioration from his long 20-year career.

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Three Poor Outings: He’d already shown signs of slippage in his fights against John Ryder and Jaime Munguiao. But after his clash against the hulking 193-lb Edgar Berlanga last September, Canelo has visibly faded. For those who saw that fight, Canelo took some big shots from Berlanga down the stretch and looked worn out in the 12th. He was lucky that boxing no longer has 15-round fights because Berlanga might have stopped him. “Now, I switch. I always thought Canelo was going to be too big and too strong, but now I’m going to pick Crawford to win this fight,” said trainer Robert Garcia on the YouTube channel of the Boxing Scene. “Crawford is very talented. Great footwork, great combinations, and a very strong fighter.”

Canelo’s performance against William Scull last Saturday has gotten a lot of fans to switch their picks. They’ve jumped off the sinking Alvarez chip and are picking Crawford to win on September 12th. It’s like rats abandoning a ship that is about to take its final plunge. It’s not that they’re fans of the Omaha, Nebraska native’s fighting style. Indeed, many people dislike the way Crawford fights, viewing him as not entertaining to watch, except for his one fight against Errol Spence. Boxing fans just see Canelo as being over the hill now at 34, as he’s looked poor in three consecutive fights. It started with Jaime Munguia, then Edgar Berlanga, and now Scull.

Looking Old: “Facing them off, he’s actually the taller man. I’m leaning toward Crawford now. I switched my opinion. I think Canelo looked too slow, too flat-footed, one punch at a time,” said Robert about Canelo’s fight against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh. Crawford obviously saw the deterioration in Canelo as well, which is one of the reasons he’s so eager to fight him. The money is clearly Terence’s main reason for fighting Canelo, but his looking shot is important as well. If Canelo were the same size as David Benavidez and fighting like him, Crawford wouldn’t be nearly as eager to fight him. He’d still do it for the money, but he’d have a vacant, doomed man look to him if he were facing Benavidez. “I don’t think that’s going to be enough for him to beat Crawford. Crawford is too fast, too strong, and too good,” said Garcia.

The fight is set and locked.

On September 12, Terence Crawford will face Canelo Alvarez. Now, while he is completely focused on the ring, Crawford knows that the upcoming war, probably the biggest boxing world has seen since the 2015 Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, is as much about hearts and minds. It’s an altogether different playing field, and he needs to establish his dominance.

So, like any intelligent man, Crawford seemingly anticipated and chalked out a fine blueprint to make his pitch. Increasingly many believe that Bud Crawford, who moves up two divisions, may have the wherewithal to inflict a third career loss on the Mexican superstar. Crawford is not one to rest on his laurels. He will keep working hard to achieve the unthinkable at the Allegiant Stadium. But like any good general, Crawford knows. The most crushing defeat would be when his opponent’s fans cheer for him. And to achieve his objective, he made his first move.

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A post shared by Terence Bud Crawford (@tbudcrawford)

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Terence Crawford: A multi-front battle

On his Instagram post, urging Mexican fans to check out the limited edition ‘Viva Mexico’ TBC shirts, Terence Crawford wrote, “I have a special treat for all my Mexican fans!!!” The post featured images of four t-shirts in two sets of colors, black and white, having common logos and captions.

It’s not that Crawford will be the first fighter to reach out to the Mexican fans, supporting and screaming for Canelo. Back in 2007, when he faced Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather did a walk-in wearing a Mexican sombrero. But rather than enticing the Mexican fans or taunting De La Hoya, he did the cameo to pay homage to his uncle, the great Roger Mayweather, who once wore a black sombrero during the face-off against the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez.

Crawford knows that he faces a daunting task. Canelo may have received a rap on the knuckle for the William Scull fight. But he still presents a formidable challenge. Crawford will have to put in his all if he wants to score a historic win.

Let’s join the party!!

This fan was quite enthusiastic about the initiative. They said, “Definitely gonna grab 2.” Given the historic significance of the fight, merchandise such as the ones offered by Crawford and others is likely to become memorable collectibles.

A taunt followed. “Wonder if Canelo is making Omaha shirts 😂,” said this user. For those in the know, Canelo is already big-time on merchandise. A first-rate businessman, the undisputed champion has a dedicated website through which he offers a variety of products, including t-shirts, hats, jackets, hoodies, and accessories like sticker packs and headbands.

The Mayweather connection, nevertheless, made its mark. “Channeling his inner Floyd Mayweather,” said this fan. It’s amazing to see how, years ago, as a young boxer, Mayweather could understand and utilize cultural symbolisms to his advantage.

Of course, quite a few were gung-ho about Crawford defeating Canelo. Like this fan said, “Go get it and come back with it, Bud!” Though cognizant of the risks involved, many fans would love to see Crawford score a win in what could be the biggest fight of his career. He could become boxing’s first three-division undisputed champion among men.

But the ‘other side’ was equally prepared: “Canelo gonna boil that crawfish 👏.” The standard narrative persists. Crawford is entering the super middleweight king’s den. The Mexican knows his domain very well and hence remains an overwhelming favorite to win.

It’s great to see how a big fight starts catching up the crowd’s imagination, particularly when the stakeholders themselves get involved.

Whether Crawford’s new venture gains success, time alone will tell. But it deserves appreciation. Beyond pure economics, his attempt to reach out and gain the confidence of people as he proceeds to square off against their biggest icon is a template others could follow.