Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Who has the better CV?

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford come face-to-face inside the ring this weekend, with the two undisputed champions’ bout representing one of the most anticipated fights in boxing history.

In control of all the belts at super middleweight, Canelo is favourite against 168lbs debutant Crawford. It is foolish to write off a man who has completely unified two separate divisions, but one way of predicting a winner will be by looking at each fighter’s CVs.

Both record breakers and setters, any fighter in the world would love a career like Canelo or Crawford’s – but which star has the stand out resume?

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Terence Crawford – unbeaten record breaker

Crawford remains undefeated after 41 professional bouts, winning 31 via stoppage.

After missing out on the Olympics, ‘Bud’ turned pro in March 2008, quickly stringing together a record of 19 wins in his first five years in the paid code.

Breidis Prescott, notable for shocking Amir Khan in 2008, was the first eye-catching scalp for Crawford, who then eased through two eliminators against Alejandro Sanabria and Andrey Klimov.

That set him up for a shot at World Boxing Organisation (WBO) lightweight champion Ricky Burns in 2014. Crawford travelled across the Atlantic to take on the Scot in his own backyard. Despite having the crowd against him, ‘Bud’ eventually took control of the fight, easing to a unanimous decision win – with Burns having to hang on in the dying embers to hear the final bell.

Unanimous decisions are common with Crawford – either he stops you inside the distance, or all the judges crown him the clear winner of a contest. Such is his dominance in fights that there are little complaints or controversy surrounding any of his wins.

A four-weight champion, Crawford made history in 2023 when he united all four major belts in the welterweight division, becoming the first man to achieve undisputed status in two weight classes.

He had previously collected all the marbles at super lightweight in 2017, kicking off a resurgence of undisputed champions after a 12-year absence of one man holding all four belts in any division.

His achievement of being a two-division undisputed champion has since been matched by Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk, highlighting the quality of company he is associated with.

Canelo’s claim to the better CV

Canelo has been labelled as the face of boxing, and whilst marketing and a ravenous fanbase certainly helps, his boxing ability simply cannot be overlooked.

Two years younger than Crawford, Canelo made his pro debut three years before his American rival, first stepping into the ring at 15. Despite still growing, Canelo knocked out 11 of his first 13 opponents, who were all – unsurprisingly – older than the Mexican.

Canelo would have to get 37 fights under his belt before fighting for a world championship, coincidentally, against a Brit, just like Crawford.

In 2012 he defeated Matthew Hatton for the vacant World Boxing Council super welterweight title, a belt he would defend five times before unifying with the World Boxing Association (WBA) title.

That paved the way for a fight with Floyd Mayweather, one of Canelo’s first mega fights. Defeated by majority decision, Canelo had proven he was good enough to become a world champion – and savvy enough to learn that fights with big names earned big purses.

Canelo himself has become a big name, with credentials of being a two-time undisputed champion at super middleweight certainly helping his cause.

Whilst there notable wins over Amir Khan, Erislandy Lara, and Miguel Cotto, Canelo’s next mega bout came against Gennady Golovkin.

The scorecards, which determined the bout to be a split decision draw, were derided at the time. One judge had it at 118-110 in favour of Canelo, far wider than most saw the fight.

Controversy over scoring has followed Canelo, with fans feeling that Mayweather’s domination in their 2013 meeting was not properly reflected on the cards. Many fight fans and media outlets had Golovkin also winning the first rematch in 2018, only for Canelo to take a majority decision.

A world champion in four separate weight classes Alvarez is clearly a fine fighter but these scorecards taint his record slightly, with many fans feeling that Canelo’s CV should have a few more losses on it.

What cannot be denied is the level of opposition Canelo has defeated over the years.

Canelo leads Terence Crawford when it comes to scalps claimed

To become undisputed at any weight, you usually have to defeat a few fellow world champions to collect all the belts. With both Canelo and Crawford claiming undisputed status, they have bested many active champions.

Crawford has proven victorious over five reigning champions, defeating a further four former title holders, as well as beating a future champion in the form of Ray Beltran.

By virtue of 26 more fights, Canelo has managed to encounter more world champions. The Mexican has defeated 12 reigning title holders, nine former champions, and one man who would go on to win a belt of his own – Miguel Vazquez. Canelo beat Vazquez twice, a fact – combined with two wins over Gennady Golovkin – that is not reflected in the count.

But Canelo has not simply vanquished all in his path, losing a unification bout with Mayweather in 2013, before suffering his next defeat nine years later when he attempted to defeat light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

Canelo’s fearlessness when it comes to choosing opponents, especially earlier on his career, demands respect, even if it has left blemishes on his record.

Amir Khan – the common thread between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford

There is one opponent in common for Canelo and Crawford – Britain’s Amir Khan. Interestingly, both managed to stop Khan in the sixth-round via stoppage, meaning it is hard to glean too much from the shared variable.

Crawford did manage to drop Khan in the first round, and was up unanimously on the judges’ scorecards at the point of the stoppage. Canelo was up on two scorecards, but it must be pointed out that he was facing a Khan three years younger than the version defeated by Crawford.

The bouts were also contested at different weights; Canelo taking on Khan at middleweight in 2016, with the Brit dropping back down to welterweight to face Crawford in 2019.

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