Let’s add another title to Canelo Álvarez’s growing list.
Alvarez took another piece of the super-middle belt after defeating Callum Smith on December 19 to win the WBA, WBC and The Ring titles in the £ 168 division. Álvarez had already established himself as the main source of income for boxing. Now, it can be said that he is the best fighter in both the average and the super average weight. But is he the best boxer in the world?
The ESPN pound ranking has Terence “Bud” Crawford in 1st place and Alvarez in 2nd, but various other outlets have the Mexican champion in four divisions as the king of boxing. Each fighter won in the last months of 2020 to claim his case as the best in the sport.
ESPN analysts Cameron Wolfe and Ben Baby are taking opposite angles to defend who is really the best in the world: Crawford or Alvarez.
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Look back at Terence Crawford’s memorable moments as he continues his journey in the welterweight division.
Wolfe: Write one for Crawford here. Pound for pound charts are about testing and achieving vision for me. No one at Floyd Mayweather Jr. has consistently dominated, from lightweight to junior welterweight to welterweight, just like Crawford. He was a linear weight champion, undisputed junior weight champion and is now a bogeyman of the welterweight division.
Alvarez is one of the best fighters of this generation, but in his three biggest fights (Mayweather, Gennadiy Golovkin twice) he has a loss, a draw (which many considered a loss) and a victory. What separates Crawford is that no one got to beat him. Speed, defense, intelligence, adaptability, power; he regularly makes his opponents look like nobody.
It’s been almost five years since anyone brought Crawford to the books. Alvarez is the biggest money man in boxing, but Crawford is the king of boxing. But Ben, I know you’re eager to share your idea here. Why am I wrong?
baby: For me, it’s not a big discussion. When you look at Álvarez’s history over the last 10 years, Canelo’s level of opposition is truly astonishing. Since 2011, when Alvarez won his first major welterweight title, he has struggled with some of the biggest names in the sport and taken them out with relative ease. The only exception is Mayweather, who struggled smartly with Canelo early in his career and weighed in at a few pounds, which was a few pounds lighter than Alvarez’s usual range at the time.
Shane Mosley. Miguel Cotto. Erislandy Lara. Golovkin. This is just a sample of names from Canelo’s resume.
In addition, Canelo became more impressive as he moved throughout his career. It can go from a masterful defense and recoil to an intimidating attack, even against a person who has put up fighting problems like Callum Smith.
For me, this is the biggest factor that separates Alvarez and Crawford. Whether or not it was Crawford’s fault, he simply failed to secure opponents of the same caliber.
Wolfe: Look, I can’t argue that Alvarez has a better opponent resume than Crawford, but I’m not going to criticize Crawford for his boxing troubles.
Crawford is the most feared fighter and perhaps the scariest in boxing. Why is the best fighter in the division punished because the rest of the weight will not fight him, using the “other side of the street” argument as an excuse? How do we know that these so-called PBC elite boxers would not face the same fate in the ring as everyone else who fights Bud?
I’d rather look at what Bud did, rather than point out who he didn’t face. I’ll give Canelo credit for his boxing performance, but I still remember how Mayweather made him look normal for 12 rounds. And you can claim that he did not win either of his two matches with Golovkin. I also have problems with Canelo failing multiple drug tests for “contaminated meat.” There are too many questions about Canelo for me to raise him above Crawford, who could be the cleanest and worst man in boxing.
baby: Drug testing failures should not be overlooked. That will always be part of Canelo’s legacy, no matter how he feels about it. But I think Alvarez should get credit because he had no problems other than the situation after Golovkin’s first fight. And, as I said, the combination of his talents in the ring and the rivals he defeated is unmatched in sports.
That being said, I know it’s not enough for you. So, since Alvarez is not your number one fighter per pound, who does Canelo have to beat to move him to the top of the standings?
Wolfe: This is a good question. The gap between Crawford and Alvarez, between number 1 and number 2, is closer to me than between Alvarez and Naoya Inoue at number 2 and no. 3. Assuming Crawford has no other prominent opponent, a convincing win by Alvarez over Golovkin or WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo would be enough to bring him to 1st place.
What struggles would Crawford have enough to reach first place?
baby: I know boxing has its policies, but if Crawford “crosses the street” and is willing to take a few opponents under the umbrella of the Boxing Champions Premiership, he will really increase his actions. After the fight with Errol Spence-Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter called open to face Crawford.
Crawford has the potential to be the king of boxing per kilogram. And while the external forces in boxing exist, Crawford must do everything he can to make sure he demands to fight for the best, not just the most profitable. Then he would get to the point where Canelo is, where he can choose his opponent and win more than anyone else.
Alvarez is 30 years old. Crawford is 33 years old and still humming. And if they continue their current trajectory, the debate on the two will continue in the next few years.