Canelo Alvarez is set to face Terence Crawford in a battle of the pound-for-pound elites on Netflix in September.
Canelo Alvarez is hoping to continue his six-fight win streak this September with a win over the undefeated Terence Crawford.
Canelo’s latest loss has come against another pound-for-pound elite, Dmitry Bivol, in the Mexican’s bid to move up in weight once again.
Crawford will be moving up two weight divisions to fight the face of boxing in the hopes of becoming the undisputed super-middleweight champion.
Canelo puts Terence Crawford in his top seven opponents
In an interview with IFL TV, Canelo was asked whether he believed Crawford would be one of his toughest tests yet, and where he’d rank him amongst his other opponents.
Canelo said: “He’s gonna be one of my best opponents for sure, my top eight, seven, six, I don’t know.”
Though he didn’t say who he’d place above Crawford, it’s reasonable to assume Floyd Mayweather, Dmitry Bivol, and Gennadiy Golovkin make the list, given they either beat Canelo or drew with him.
Canelo has praised Crawford for years, and seems to be taking him seriously without relying solely on the weight advantage.
Crawford was criticised for the Israil Madrimov fight, with fans suggesting the jump in weight for that proved difficult, and two further divisions will prove near impossible.
Canelo and Terence Crawford have one common opponent
Despite their different weight classes, Canelo and Crawford do have one opponent in common.
In 2016, Amir Khan fought Canelo after jumping up from 147 pounds to 155 pounds.
Going into the sixth round, Khan was ahead on one scorecard, though that would drastically change as Canelo stunned the Brit with a lights-out KO.
Three years later, Khan faced Crawford, and was again stopped in round six.
In the same interview, Canelo is asked what he thinks of Khan suggesting Crawford will win. He responds: “Let’s see.”