After Terence Crawford ran roughshod over Errol Spence Jr. to become the undisputed welterweight champion, fans began to speculate what would be next for the first male fighter in the four-belt era to be undisputed in two different weight classes. The immediate answers to that question was either a contractually obligated rematch with Spence — which reports suggest Spence may have already activated — or challenging undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo in an effort to be an undisputed champion in an unprecedented third weight class.
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Considering the level of domination that Crawford put on display, curiosity was piqued when the idea of Crawford challenging undisputed super middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was suggested. Before the fight with Spence, Crawford shot down the idea and stated that 168 pounds was simply too big for him. While the fight would likely be the biggest and best fight that could be made, Crawford initially suggested that he would be open to the fight if it happened at a catchweight. However, Canelo held firm that he wouldn’t compete at any weight lower than 168 pounds.
It looked as if a Canelo-Crawford fight is nothing more than a fantasy fight.
Or, is it?
As Canelo prepares to defend his undisputed super middleweight title against Jermell Charlo on September 30, it appears that Crawford has begun to warm up to the possibility of moving up to 168 pounds to face Canelo.
The undefeated Crawford appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” and suggested that a fight with Canelo at super middleweight could potentially happen.
“It’s greatness. This is my era and I’m taking it. Ain’t nobody gonna stop me,” Crawford said. “Now that I’ve switched gears, I know I wanted to fight Jermell but if he loses to Canelo — I’ve always said that’s a big step. That’s a big step but for a person to go up three weight classes from 147 to 168 and to win and to become undisputed ... wow. What can they say?”
Obviously, there are a lot of things at play that need to happen before a megafight between Canelo and Crawford could take place. First, Canelo has to turn back the challenge of Charlo on September 30. Crawford would then have to potentially honor his contract and face Errol Spence Jr. in a fight that is expected to take place at 154 pounds. The timing could potentially be an issue. Canelo usually fights in September and May. Depending on when Crawford-Spence 2 happens, which initially was expected to take place before the end of 2023 but could be pushed back depending on when Spence is able to compete again after the beating he took in July, there’s a distinct possibility that the timelines don’t match up.
There’s also the issue of whether Canelo will be obligated to defend one of his titles before then. David Benavidez is the current interim WBC 168-pound champion and has been chomping at the bit for the chance to face Canelo. The WBC could force Canelo to defend his title but the sanctioning organization has been relatively lenient with Canelo and would likely look the other way if Crawford stepped up. And as much as Canelo enjoys being the undisputed champion, he loves challenges even more. It’s unlikely that he’ll allow a sanctioning body to get in the way of a fight with Crawford and if it required him to vacate the title, he’d probably do it.
Initially, Canelo didn’t appear to be interested in fighting Crawford because the idea of an opponent moving up multiple weight classes wasn’t appealing to him. In the same manner that Crawford shot down a hypothetical fight with a smaller Gervonta Davis, Canelo did the same with “Bud.”
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"It's impossible because like he said, if he beats Gervonta Davis everyone is going to say it's because he was small,” Canelo said on The Breakfast Club. " It's the same thing, I respect Crawford, he's a good fighter, but we are different.”
But with Crawford softening his stance, it appears that Canelo is now welcoming the challenge.
"Everybody is talking about if I'm going to face Crawford, a fighter at 147 [pounds] who is smaller than Charlo. So it does not make sense when you guys say right now,” Canelo said to BoxingScene before leaving the door open to the fight. "I don't understand ... At the end of the day, I don't want to have credit to face Crawford, no matter what. But, you never know. You never know in boxing. I will go up and down and fight everybody out there. So, it's possible. Why not? It's possible. If it makes sense, I am down to do it. I don't care who is there. I am always able to fight everybody.”
Should Canelo successfully defend his titles against Charlo, talk of a potential fight with Crawford will be front and center.
Will it happen? Who knows. But what was once thought to be impossible now feels tangible.