History was made during Mexican Independence Day weekend in Las Vegas, when Canelo Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) was knocked off the throne by the now new undisputed super middleweight champion of the world, Terrence “Bud” Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs)
The fight between Alvarez and Crawford was dubbed “Once In A Lifetime” and rightfully so. This was the biggest superfight in recent memory since the historic bout between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.
There have been rumors about this fight since 2023, but it was not officially announced until May of this year. The hype leading up to the fight was well worth it. Boxing fans were going to get to see the two best fighters of the modern era duke it out to see who is the true undisputed king.
Tensions between the two fighters were already high during the first press conference. Multiple verbal jabs back and forth between Alvarez and Crawford, and things got even more intense when the two faced off, and Alvarez shoved Crawford. Fans could tell these two did not like each other and that we were in for a treat.
For Canelo, this fight was about legacy. He wanted to cement himself as not only one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time but as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Crawford’s goal? To become the first male boxer in the four-belt era to hold undisputed gold in three weight classes. Both men set out to achieve greatness, but in the end, only one stood tall.
The fight took place in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a very Hispanic-heavy crowd, so as you can imagine, a lot of the fans were backing Canelo to win the fight, but that didn’t stop Crawford fans from showing their support as well. Both fan bases were making themselves known at the ceremonial weigh-ins, with chants coming from both sides, creating an electric atmosphere.
When fight day finally arrived, fans stumbled into the arena ready to witness the historic bout. The card featured many prominent and upcoming prospects, including “King” Callum Walsh vs. Fernando Vargas Jr., the son of the former two-time junior middleweight champion, Fernando Vargas. From TKOs to fight of the night contenders, this fight card was shaping up well, but then it was time for the main event. The walkouts of Alvarez and Crawford were a sight to see. Both fighters enter the ring, and you could just feel the tension between them.
The fight did not go as many fans expected. Crawford came out aggressively, pressuring Canelo from the start, all the way to the end of the fight. As the fight continued, everyone could see on Alvarez’s face that he was getting frustrated. For the third time in his career, he could not figure out his opponent.
Fans could see that this wasn’t the same Canelo who had knocked out Amir Khan, dominated Matthew Hatton to win his first world title, or the one who had gone toe-to-toe with the great Gennady Golovkin; this was a shell of his former self. Crawford also realized this as the fight progressed; he could be seen taunting Alvarez in the middle of the fight. He had figured him out.
Bud came in with one clear intention: to stand tall over one of the most dominant champions of the modern era of boxing, and that’s exactly what he did. Terrence “Bud” Crawford beat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to reign supreme and become the new undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
You could see in his face the glory and joy that hit him as soon as the referee raised his hand in victory. On the other hand, the shame that came over Canelo was different. Sure, he had taken losses in the past, but not like this one; he lost the most in this defeat. He had his world titles taken from him and his status as one of the top champions.
What does this mean going forward for the world of boxing and, more importantly, the super middleweight division? Fans have already started matchmaking the new champion with fighters like Dmitry Bivol or David Benavidez. Who knows what the next move is for “Bud,” but one thing we do know is that there is a new king of the super middleweights.
