Canelo Says Crawford Is Better Than Mayweather, Before ‘One Of The Best Fights In Boxing History’

Canelo Alvarez found out firsthand why Floyd Mayweather Jr. is considered an all-time great and the best fighter of his generation when they squared off in 2013.

Alvarez was 23 at the time, Mayweather was 36. Mayweather comfortably outclassed him and won a decision against the still-green Mexican upstart.

Fast forward a dozen years, and the super middleweight king Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) has a Sept. 13 fight scheduled against Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), a four-division champion who’s taken the torch from Mayweather and etched his legacy as a consensus pound-for-pound great.

“I think Crawford is a little better than Mayweather,” Alvarez told FightHype. “But this Canelo has more experience right now. I think it’s a totally different fight. I don’t want to compare this fight with others. This fight is one of the best fights in boxing history, and that’s it.”

Bookmakers see the battle between future first-ballot Hall of Famers as a close encounter despite the smaller-framed Crawford moving up two divisions. DraftKings lists Alvarez as a minus-185 betting favorite and Crawford as a plus-150 betting underdog.

“I’m here because of my talent, skills, and discipline,” said Alvarez. “I don’t care what the people say about my boxing IQ. If you look at my resume, I did everything and fought everybody. I accomplished everything in boxing. So my legacy is already there.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.