The biggest fight of the year is set to take place in September as two of all-time greats of their era finally come together.
Boxing fans around the world firmly believed for a moment in time that the biggest fight of the year would see Canelo Alvarez face Jake Paul.
As the history books will show, the tables were well and truly turned after Canelo signed a deal with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, committing the next two-years of his career.
A huge part of this new direction for the Mexican superstar is that later this year in Las Vegas, fight fans will get to see one of the biggest fights in recent years.
Canelo vs Terrence Crawford has been through some ups and downs but the two icons are finally on the same page for a super middleweight clash that could define their already iconic careers.
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Oscar De La Hoya predicts that Canelo Alvarez will be too much for Terrence Crawford
One man that knows Canelo Alvarez better than most is a fellow legendary competitor, Oscar De La Hoya.
The former six-weight world champion signed Canelo to his Golden Boy Promotions stable back in 2010 when the rising Mexican was still a relatively unknown quantity.
Though their relationship ended on bad terms back in 2020, the two men accomplished incredible things over the decade as the 34-year-old climbed to become the biggest star in boxing.
For a lot of people, the emphasis in this fight is on Terence Crawford who will be moving up in weight once again to try and become a five-division world champion.
‘Bud’ has said in the past that he doesn’t see Alvarez’s size as a huge factor but others might see it as the 37-year-old biting off more than he can chew when daring to be great.
In an interview with FightHype, which has since been removed from YouTube, De La Hoya gave his prediction for the fight.
Whilst he recognizes that Crawford might have the technical edge which he can use to control the fight, the physical advantages of Canelo will be too much to overcome down the stretch.
“Look, fighter versus fighter and talent, obviously Crawford is the craftier boxer but Canelo has the size, he has the power and it’s like [Bob] Arum said he’ll run right through him.
“It’ll be a tough fight but stylistically I mean yeah it’ll be a one-sided fight for maybe let’s say seven rounds and then Canelo starts attacking, attacking, he starts to take it to deep waters and the power will eventually be too much. Will it be a great fight? Will it be a huge event? Absolutely.”
Terrence Crawford has some time on his side
One advantage that Terrence Crawford does have on his side right now is time because he doesn’t have a fight booked.
Whilst some may see it as a disadvantage that he isn’t getting another bout in soon to stay sharp, it affords ‘Bud’ some time to put on some size and get used to carrying that extra weight around.
As for Canelo, he will make his Riyadh Season debut on May 3 when he looks to reclaim his undisputed middleweight champion status.
The Mexican star will face William Scull in a fight that many believe he will come through without jeopardizing the Crawford bout.