Canelo Alvarez defeated William Scull and retained the Super Middleweight title once again. Alvarez was crowned the undisputed 168-pound champion for the second time in his pro boxing career, and it came via unanimous decision, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Alvarez won back the IBF title after he was stripped of the belt last year, after he had refused to face Scull. The contest wasn’t even close, and with his win at Riyadh, it also set up one of the most anticipated bouts between Alvarez and Terence Crawford, on September 12, 2025 at Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the fight, since Crawford was in attendance for the fight, he entered the ring for a faceoff against the Super Middleweight champion.
At the end, the fight between Canelo Alvarez and William Scull felt more like a formality fight than anything else, as we all know that Crawford and Alvarez is the fight that the entire world wants to see. Alvarez continuously pressured Scull in the bout, and did not let him get any momentum. Alvarez took his time fighting Scull, and did not open up more than he was supposed to as he just kept the pressure on, winning rounds after rounds, with no answers in return by Scull. After the fight even Canelo himself stated that he hates fighting guys like Scull who, according to him, wanted to survive all the rounds than actually compete.
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Canelo Alvarez is -220 favorite to win the fight against the +170 underdog Terence Crawford, as far as the early odds goes. Alvarez is currently listed as the favorite to win the bout, as he is a natural Super Middleweight, meanwhile Crawford will have to move up two weight classes to face Alvarez, thus the current odds.
While Crawford has the ability to outbox in moments, experts say that he ultimately lacks the durability and power to compete effectively. Canelo has explosive strength, elite chin, and a very refined defense, which makes it highly unlikely for him to get knocked out by Crawford. Alvarez can adapt very quickly in the fight, is an extremely skilled close-range fighter, which has given him many victories throughout his career. With a significant knockout power, Alvarez is currently predicted to secure a knockout win.
Terence Crawford may be listed as the underdog, but he is arguably the most skilled, pound-4-pound, fighter in boxing currently. His dominant win over Errol Spence Jr. highlighted his technical brilliance at welterweight. However, moving up to super middleweight against Canelo Alvarez shifts the advantage. Jumping weight classes has always proven to be risky, and since Crawford’s 37, the question to be asked is if Crawford can without Alvarez’s devastating power. And according to the experts, Crawford is likely going to go down in the fifth or the sixth round via TKO.
Despite the predictions, there is still a very good chance that Crawford could win the fight even as the underdog, as he is still extremely skilled even if he’s moving up from his current weight class. If you are to bet on Crawford, a win via decision round would be a safe and a solid bet going forward.
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