Canelo Alvarez was nowhere to be found.

But his fans were, and Terence Crawford discovered that the loud way.

At Grand Arrivals for the two fighters, Crawford was greeted by loud boos on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel — early evidence Crawford will be treated like the villain when he and Alvarez fight on Saturday Sept. 13.

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As the boos continued, Crawford smiled.

“This ain’t nothing different than when I went to Scotland and fought Ricky Burns,’’ he told boxing analyst Max Kellerman during the livestreamed event.

Crawford was referring to 2014, when he traveled to Scotland to fight Scottish boxer Ricky Burns for the WBO world lightweight title. At the time, Crawford said he would silence the crowd on fight night. He did just that, beating Burns by unanimous decision and winning his first world title.

So for Crawford, who’s from Omaha, Nebraska, Las Vegas suddenly feels a little like Scotland.

Not for Alvarez.

The Mexican star is about 1,500 miles from his birthplace of Guadalajara, and once again his fans are expected to flock, this time to watch him defend his undisputed super middleweight championship. The bout will take place at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, and be livestreamed by Netflix three days before Mexican Independence Day.

“They’re all going to be quiet come Saturday,’’ Crawford told Kellerman, and he later remarked, “I’ve been booed before. Hey, listen, they can’t fight for him, so it don’t matter.’’

Alvarez arrived about an hour later and there was no need to talk about boos.

In Spanish Alvarez told his backers, “I’m super grateful for all the support that you always provided to me.’’

The fighters are primed, the stage is set, and anticipation is at an all-time high.

On September 13, Canelo Alvarez will put his undisputed crown on the line against Terence Crawford at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. But in the lead-up to this blockbuster showdown, speculation has started to swirl around the two-division undisputed champion.

Crawford is stepping up two weight classes for this bout, and at 37, he isn’t immune to the wear and tear that comes with years of training. That has fueled online chatter, and an injury wouldn’t be all that surprising. The rumor mill gained momentum when Pound4Pound on X claimed to have heard from a close source about potential concerns in Crawford’s camp.

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What happened to Terence Crawford?

Pound4Pound reported on X, “I’m hearing from a close source that Terence Crawford’s shoulder, that he had surgery on, has been ‘flaring up’ in camp.” That kind of news, if true, could spell trouble for Crawford heading into fight week. The account further added, “Apparently, it has been a lingering issue for the past 8–10 weeks & is being monitored closely.” Naturally, the question followed—could this really be the case?

That’s where YouTuber Show Bizz the Adult stepped in. He quickly pointed to Crawford’s previously scrapped fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr., a matchup that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh himself had confirmed fell through because of injury. Bizz argued that Pound4Pound’s update carried some weight, especially given Crawford’s age and the physical demands of moving up two weight classes.

But boxing insider Rick Glasser soon shut the rumors down. “Clickbait! Absolutely not true,” he replied to the viral post. Meanwhile, Crawford’s team has chosen to remain silent, refusing to confirm or deny the speculation. Whether it’s genuine concern or just narrative-building ahead of fight night, some believe it’s little more than a ready-made excuse if Crawford falls short. Regardless, a former world champion thinks only this man will emerge victorious.

Roy Jones Jr. predicts Canelo Alvarez vs. Crawford

There’s perhaps no one better who understands what it takes to chase history across several weight classes like Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. Having won titles from middleweight to heavyweight, Jones sees similarities in Terence Crawford’s upcoming challenge against Canelo Alvarez. “Terence has been bulking up to the weight just like I did as a heavyweight,” Jones told The Ring.

“If he can deal with super middleweights and light heavyweights in training, you can deal with them in the fight,” he added. “The weight should not even be an issue … He’s a great small guy and a great small guy can do anything.” Meanwhile, he also had a warning for Canelo, noting, “If Canelo fights the absolute correct fight … he could be victorious. If he doesn’t, Crawford has six ways that he can win it.”

“If [Crawford] becomes a three-division undisputed champion,” Jones added, “you can put him in the conversation for one of the best ever, pound for pound.”

It appears the rumors about Terence Crawford’s shoulder are just that: a rumor. ‘Bud’ is presumably fine and ready for action. Roy Jones Jr. even feels the Nebraskan technician will bring the gold.

Canelo Alvarez is boxing’s most influential fighter. An icon and a world champion, he finds himself at the centre of a colossal fight in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Canelo will defend the undisputed super-middleweight world titles at Allegiant Stadium on the edges of the city’s neon strip against unbeaten American Terence Crawford.

It is a fight that has divided boxing fans and the boxing business. The contest is being promoted by Dana White, the man behind the rise and rise of the UFC, and it is his first boxing promotion. Obviously, it is being bankrolled by Turki Alalshikh, the man behind the Saudi Arabian boxing revolution, and it is not his first promotion.

READ: Canelo Alvarez Already Has Next Opponent in Line, Poised to K

Canelo against Crawford is also being screened on Netflix, which is part of the broadcaster’s apparent move to cover increasing amounts of live sport. If it all seems a bit new and edgy, just remember that Canelo and Crawford have been shaped by a life in boxing’s most torrid and old-fashioned gyms.

They are certainly not Love Island rejects or two men in a freak fight. Please, don’t let the hype and glam distract you from a genuinely fantastic fight.

Canelo has been a professional boxer since he was 15, was fighting 10 and 12-rounders as a teenager, and won his first world title in 2011. The Crawford bout will be his 29th world-title fight. He has held world-title belts at four weights and lost just two of his 67 fights. He is still only 35. He would be unique in any era of the professional boxing business. And holding a world title first at super-welterweight and then briefly at light-heavyweight means he has fought inside a huge space of 21lb.

The Mexican has also run out of challengers at his weight and the weight below him, and that is where Crawford enters the party.

Both men have been in the top three or four boxers in the world for a long, long time. They have operated at an elite level but been separated by as many as 28lb; talk of a Canelo and Crawford fight has been heard in boxing’s corridors for a long time. Last year, Alalshikh announced that the rumours were over, and he set in motion the deal for the fight.

In boxing, it is a fun game to guess the purses involved; it is clear that both are making more than they have ever made in a fight, but the real figures are never revealed. A purse of $200m is accepted as the final fee, and the split is thought to favour Canelo considerably, with perhaps 75 per cent going his way. That sounds about right.

Crawford, who is 37, won his first world title in Glasgow back in 2014. He was 134lb on the night; his next title was at 140lb, and then he moved to full welterweight and the 147lb limit. In August of last summer, during the Riyadh Season event in Los Angeles, he moved to super-welterweight, weighed 153lb on the night, and was not overly convincing in his 12-round win over Israil Madrimov (as a guide, Canelo had been that weight in 2011). Still, the Madrimov fight led to the hurried chat of a showdown with Canelo.

Crawford is unbeaten in 41 fights with 19 wins in world-title fights. He has not fought in over a year and has, instead, slowly transformed his body from being a big welterweight to pushing the limits on the scales at super-middleweight. He is unrecognisable now, no longer the lean lightweight.

The danger is that he will have lost some speed, and that will be crucial against Canelo, who has been a full super-middleweight since 2018. The truth is that no amount of instant and impressive muscle gain can match the natural strength of an opponent who has been at the weight for so many years.

Still, Crawford will not be thrown all over the ring by Canelo, that is for sure. It’s boxing, and not wrestling.

It is a fine fight, still a fight with a lot of unknowns, which seems strange considering they have fought a combined total of 108 fights. Canelo has so often breezed through a fight when it was thought he would struggle, and conversely made hard work of easy nights. Crawford did have to work hard against Madrimov last summer and that, on reflection, looks like a bad form guide for the showdown against Canelo.

However, this fight has something special about it, and it will certainly not be easy for either man to pull off the win – a draw, by the way, is a decent option.

There is a chance that caution, skill and smart boxing rule, and that will make for a technical fight. There is also a chance that Canelo wants to force the pace, and then we would have a wonderful fight on our hands. Crawford, you see, has never been under sustained pressure.

The sensible prediction is Canelo on points; the smart prediction is a close, close Crawford win.

Canelo Alvarez Already Has Next Opponent in Line, Poised to KO Terence Crawford

Canelo Alvarez is just days away from stepping into the ring against Terence Crawford at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The two will clash for Canelo’s undisputed super middleweight crown in what many experts are calling a razor-close matchup, despite ‘Bud’ moving up two weight classes. Even the betting odds for the fight on Netflix reflect how evenly matched this showdown appears to be.

While Canelo remains a slight favorite, attention has also turned to what lies ahead for the Mexican superstar. His longtime trainer, Eddy Reynoso, recently shed light on the path forward. It’s already known that after the Crawford bout, Canelo has two fights left on his four-fight deal with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. Now, Reynoso has revealed who might be waiting in line as one of those future opponents.

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Canelo Alvarez wants revenge

Speaking to CNN en Español a couple of days ago, Reynoso was pressed about Canelo’s last fight before he retires. Reynoso didn’t mince words, as he revealed his star fighter’s intentions beyond Terence Crawford. “Against Dmitry Bivol. I know Saul can beat him. We were close to doing it. I think after this fight, we’re going to reconsider what we want,” Reynoso said. “I have confidence in Saul, because I’ve known him my whole life. I know how far he can go.”

As for Crawford, Reynoso has enough confidence in his star pupil to predict a knockout. “I know that with the preparation we’re doing, we’re going to knock out Crawford,” Reynoso said. “After seeing that result, we’ll see what’s next for February or May. I’d love to fight with Bivol.” When asked whether Canelo had expressed a desire to run it back with Dmitry Bivol once he is done with Crawford, Reynoso said, “This is the first time I’m saying this in front of the cameras.”

“I didn’t have a goal in mind, but we’ve been working well in the gym,” he added during the interview. “I’ve seen Saul’s ability. We’ve done other things in training that we couldn’t have done because of injuries we’ve had. I think we’re doing well. We’re working well physically and mentally.” Bivol, of course, shocked the world back in May 2022 when he outboxed Canelo Alvarez to secure a unanimous decision win at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas.

Bivol was expected to meet rival Artur Beterbiev in a long-awaited rubber match, but the Russian’s recent back surgery has thrown that plan into uncertainty. For now, Alvarez’s focus remains firmly on Terence Crawford—a challenge that, despite Eddy Reynoso’s confidence, looms as a steep mountain to climb. And weighing in on the debate, none other than Mike Tyson has shared his thoughts on whether Canelo has what it takes to prevail.

Mike Tyson wants Terence Crawford to win

Heavyweight legend Mike Tyson hasn’t made his admiration for Terence Crawford a secret. The former heavyweight champion values what Crawford brings to the table – fight IQ, skill set, and ability to make adjustments mid-fight. Despite all that, ‘Iron’ Mike is not sure whether ‘Bud’ can pull off an upset against Canelo Alvarez.

“I want Crawford to win, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen,” Tyson admitted on The Big Podcast. “I would like for it to happen.” He went as far as to warn Terence Crawford about the power and experience Canelo will bring inside the ring. “This guy [Alvarez] is a hard puncher; he’s a smart fighter. I want to see it.”

It appears it’s not just Canelo Alvarez or his trainer who sees the Terence Crawford fight as a foregone conclusion – even Mike Tyson appears to predict Canelo’s win.