Boxing
Canelo Alvarez versus Terence Crawford: Career Hills, Tactical schedule
Published
9 months agoon
When you talk about Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and you look at what he achieved-from the debut as a fifteen-year-old boy after thirty-five years-it is basic to miss superlatives. The same applies to Terenca “Bud” Crawford.
Words legend, Super -Gwiazda, the undisputed master and the great pound for pounds, for decades they have been throwing boxes boxing, but we rarely hear that the fighters are described as unique. Crawford and Alvarez are like that; They are both unusual in what they have achieved in their lives as boxers.
Crawford began boxing at the age of seven at the local gym in Omaha, Nebraska. He conducted a campaign in seventy competitions before he turned into a professional in 2008.
Alvareza Amateur Foundation
Alvarez came from the Fighting Family, following the brothers to the gym every day, where he watched how they train and blamed. He was thirteen when he started boxing with amateurs. After forty -six competitions, Alvarez became a professional in 2005 at the age of fifteen.
In 2014, after gathering an impressive series of winnings 22-0, Crawford went to Glasgow in Scotland to challenge the proud WBO master Ricky Burns. The lasting master was laid and overtaken when Crawford took his heart and title, defeating him in points to win his first world championship title.
Climbing after divisions
Good victories over Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo led Crawford to promotion to Thomas Dulorme for the title of WBO Airy-Welterwight in Texas. Crawford fought Dulorme to win in the sixth round and become the world champion of two weighted.
Crawford defended his title slight weight, and then defeated the extremely challenging Ukrainian boxer Victor for the title of WBC slightly Welterwagtht and the ring belt in 2016. After another defense, he faced Julius Indongo for his WBC and WBO belts with the IBF title, knocking him with the third round.
In 2018, Crawford approached the challenge of the Australian adventurer Jeff Horn for his newly won the WBO WBO Eleternwaight title. Crawford dismantled and withdrew the master to win the title of world champion in the third weight class.
Crawford vs. Top Phenenders
Crawford defeated Amir Khan, Kell Brook and Shawn Porter in immense winnings. It was now 2022, and the next was David Avaneyan. Crawford knocked him out in the sixth round to preserve his WBO welterweight title, and this win played a key role in ensuring a mega struggle with the United World Champion, Errol Spence Jr. Entering the fight, many outside people had Spence as too massive, too swift and too powerful for Crawford. I chose Crawford to dominate and control the fight – my view was that Spence came in as a damaged warrior. I thought Crawford would head Spence’s eye, and he did it, beating the United Master of Miazga to become the undisputed world champion in the welterweight.
After a free year, Crawford approached the challenge of the WBO Junior Master ISRAIL Madrimov in 2024. Madrimov was a decorative amateur with 350 competitions under the belt and was undefeated as a professional. A man from Uzbekistan was well scholar and challenging as stone.
Crawford boxed well, counteracting Madrimov and winning inside, but the master fought pride and determination to take Crawford for a distance in a huge fight. Crawford won on all three pages of results to become a world champion in the fourth weight class. Terenka Crawford has 41-0 from 31 KO.
The first title of the world of Alvarez
Saul Alvarez won his first world title in his thirty -seventh fight. He defeated the English warrior Matthew Hatton at points to get the free championship WBC Junior Middle weight in 2011.
After winning knockouts over Ryan Rhodes, Alfonso Gomez and Kermit Cintron, he was matched to fight Shane Mosley in 2012. Alvarez fought patience and maturity against the risky and experienced Mosley, winning points in Las Vegas.
Directed towards Mayweather and more
After defeating the trout, Jossito Lopez and Austin and adding the Medium WBA and Ring belts, he accepted Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather was too good inside, too clever outside, and too swift for Alvarez, beating him at points in 2013.
Alvarez returned in March 2014 with the hard Angulo Angulo, defeating him in ten rounds, and then fought with Erislanda Lara in a strictly questioned fight, which he won in the matter of disputed division. Next was the powerful James Kirkland, but the pressure, speed and power of Alvarez were too high – throwing him in the third round to start fighting Puerto Rican Great Miguel Cotto.
Cotto Clash and Khan nervous
Alvarez and Cotto traded in blows on twelve amazing rounds, but ultimately the speed, time and variety of strokes turned out to be decisive. Alvarez counted Cotto with immense right hands, mountains and challenging arrows to win a unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
In 2016, Alvarez accepted Amir Khan and was sent until he entered the destructive right hand in Khan’s jaw in the sixth round, throwing him frigid. Then Alvarez won the WBO Junior Medium Libra after breaking the brave Liam Smith, loading his body with a quick left tear to take him in the ninth round.
Chavez Jr. and Duels Golovkin
In 2017, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1) was next. Nure, testosterone, Mexican pride and boasting of laws were the main topics of this fight in recall. Alvarez dismantled and punished much more Chavez Jr., taking him twelve rounds at the weekend of independence in Mexico in Las Vegas.
Gennades Golovkin for years terrorized the division of medium weight, and the fight against Alvarez was both lucrative and inevitable. Their first fight in September 2017 was recognized as a division – many called it a robbery. The rematch took place after a twelve -month delay, and Alvarez was announced by the winner by the majority of decisions, claiming that WBC, WBA and Ring Middle Weigh the World Championships.
Later career and title defense
From there, Alvarez defeated Rocky Fielding in Super Middle Wweight and Daniel Jacobs in medium weight in 2019. Then he approached the lithe heavyweight to challenge Sergey Kovalev for the title of WBO, stopping Kovalev in the eleventh round.
After defeating Callum Smith at points and defending his super medium -sized titles, he batted Avni Yildirim in three rounds, destroyed Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds and stopped the Caleb plant in eleven rounds to end 2021 as the unquestioned master.
Alvarez dared to a lithe heavyweight to challenge Dmitry Bivol in May 2022. Bivol fought perfectly to close the Alvarez attack and retained his title.
Then Alvarez returned to Las Vegas to fight the Trilogy with Golovkin in the Super Middle Wweight, winning a unanimous decision and keeping all the main belts. He continued to defend his super medium -sized titles against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Jama Mungui, Edgar Berlang and William Scull.
After thirty -four, sixty -seven fight careers, is Alvarez at the end? Of course it is not. He made hundreds of millions, disassembly and rejecting opponents, but it seems that his destructive power has decreased as the years passed in Super Middle weight.
Comparative analysis: Experience versus skills
Crawford will be thirty -eight at night, but he had much less fights and much less wear. Since his fight, Madrimov won eleven stops, so he will be a fresher warrior.
From 2021, Crawford fought five times with four wins. Alvarez fought ten times, and seven of these fights went a distance.
A lot of conversations from people from information boxing that Crawford will be too compact for a super medium weight. This is an absolute nonsense. Alvarez has 5’8 ″ with a wings span 70.5 ″; Crawford has 5’8 ″ with a wings span 74.0 ″.
This fight is about who can better adapt to a man standing in front of them. Experience is with Alvarez. The skill is with Crawford.
Fight
Alvarez and Crawford have been fighting and training for years. Who is the warrior with the lowest wear? Crawford has 31 wins in detention and has been the dominant force since 2008. Alvarez has 39 wins, but his last TKO was in 2021 in Super Middle Wweight. Will Crawford bring two weight divisions? Probably not.
To win, Crawford must box, move and hold away from the ropes. Jab is the key – exploit its stab and double it. Crawford has a rhythm, balance and movement and can without effort switch from Southpaw to Orthodox. He is an excellent boxer and can hit. Can he hurt Alvarez? Yes. Can he stop Alvarez? NO.
Alvarez is a pressure fighter – a fantastic machine, a keen shooter. Will he exploit Crawford’s tardy start tactics? Or maybe Outbox Crawford? The answer is no. Will Crawford get antique and tired in battle? Yes.
Crawford with a unanimous decision in this battle for masters.
O Gary Todd
Gary Todd is the international author of the best -selling. He has been involved in all aspects of boxing sport for decades. Watch out for his latest book – the upcoming October 2025.
Last updated 09/10/2025
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Boxing
Shields rejects MVP ban and threatens legal action of his own
Published
1 minute agoon
May 25, 2026
On Tuesday, Claressa Shields publicly responded to the ban from Most Valuable Promotions events, dismissing the sanction, stating that she had previously refused to sign the promotion agreement and indicating that her legal team would address what she described as false statements and defamation. The X posts follow Monday’s announcement by MVP that the undisputed heavyweight champion has been banned from events until further notice following a physical altercation with Alycia Baumgardner at MVP MMA 1 at the Intuit Dome on Saturday, May 16.
Baumgardner, who is signed to MVP and holds the unified 130-pound championship, said Monday that she experienced a “physical attack without provocation” and that the case would be handled legally. BoxingInsider previously reported on the ban and Baumgardner’s response.
Shields’ answer to MVP
Shields addressed the promotion directly in the X post.
“Now to MVP, you all tried to sign me, I refused!” Shields wrote. “You can’t kick me out of a place I don’t want to be! Tomorrow I can fight anywhere in the world! So anyone who thinks this feeble ban matters, doesn’t matter. These false statements will be dealt with as well. All of you threatening me and then playing the victim is madness. MVP, all of you lying all over me, that’s NOTHING NEW! Since you came out of the gate, all that remains is disrespect! Calling all of you fighters a ‘Real GWOAT’ while looking at my achievements, trying to erase my demanding work in women’s boxing and constantly trying to kill my character with LIES!”
MVP, co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian, has signed numerous female players in recent years, including Baumgardner and Amanda Serrano. Shields had not previously publicly confirmed that the promotion had offered her a contract.
Shields’ broader statement
Earlier Tuesday, Shields released a longer statement about X in which she characterized the encounter as the result of an extended pattern of hostility directed at her and said the circulating video did not capture the full sequence of events.
“I have dedicated my life to the sport of boxing. By the grace of God, I have been blessed. My talent has undeniably allowed me to take women’s boxing to a recent level,” Shields wrote. “It doesn’t end in the ring. What’s circulating on the Internet doesn’t tell the full story. Until now. I don’t condone violence. I’ve never done it. But I’m also not one to stand silently while I’m constantly verbally attacked, threatened, discriminated against, or have my character killed. I also won’t allow the reality of disrespect to turn into a narrative or discussion about colorism or jealousy.”
Shields continued: “There is a documented history of attacks and threats from this individual leading up to this point, and that history will speak for itself. There is a difference between aggression and protection. I stand for integrity. I stand on what I have built. I am a champion. Any further false allegations or defamation of character will be dealt with appropriately by my legal team.”
Shields did not detail the documented history she was referencing or specify what specific statements by MVP or Baumgardner she considered defamatory.
Where things stand
According to ESPNThe MVP ban applies to all future events and remains in effect until further notice, with no disclosure of the terms of its potential revocation. Neither side has filed any civil claims. Both camps said legal teams were involved.
Shields is the undisputed heavyweight champion and has fought between 154 and 175 pounds. Baumgardner holds the unified 130-pound titles. A sanctioned fight between the two teams has long been considered impractical due to the weight difference, which has been a recurring feature of their public exchanges since 2022.
Saturday’s MVP event in Inglewood was his first MMA promotion and his first event with Netflix. Ronda Rousey stopped Gina Carano 17 seconds into the main event.
Eddie Hearn wants Rolando “Rolly” Romero to fight Jack Catterall within 90 days rather than wait for the full 180 days set by the WBA for a mandatory defense, especially after Shakhram Giyasov has already spent months waiting for a title fight that never came.
Catterall (33-2, 14 KO) won the vacant WBA welterweight title last Saturday in Egypt with a 12-round unanimous decision over Giyasov (17-1, 10 KO). After the fight, Hearn made it clear that he wanted Romero to move quickly to fight the newly crowned champion.
“They’re two avoided guys and they were both mandatory governing bodies. Jack was mandatory for the WBO. Shakhram was mandatory for the WBA. They decided to just roll the dice and they deserve all the credit and respect for that,” Eddie Hearn said last Saturday of Catterall and Giyas.
“These are two avoided guys. Two of the top fighters at 140 pounds, and Jack was exceptional today. He started swift, he was aggressive, and now he has a share of the world championship, but we want the full portion.”
The WBA officially ordered Romero to defend against the winner of the Catterall-Giyasov fight within 180 days. Hearn believes there is no reason for the trial to drag on for another six months, after Giyasov has already waited around seven months for his mandatory shot at Romero under the WBA’s original order last October.
“And thank you [WBA president] Gilberto Mendoza, who yesterday gave an official order that the winner of this fight must fight [Super champion] Rolly Romero in 180 days. Why wait 180 days? We don’t need 180 days. 90 sounds better. I also thank Turki Alalshikh,” Hearn said.
Romero has not fought since May 2, 2025, when he defeated Ryan Garcia in Times Square. Despite the inaction, the WBA elevated him to “super” champion status while Catterall and Giyasov fought for a second belt in Egypt. Hearn now wants the WBA to move quickly towards a Romero-Catterall fight rather than allowing another long wait at welterweight.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist covering this sport since 2014, providing reports from the ring and technical analyzes of the most essential fights. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments and the details that shape high-level competition.
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Last updated: 25/05/2026 at 1:28
Oleksandr Usyk retained his heavyweight title in Egypt, but his place at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings did not survive his fight with Rico Verhoeven intact.
Usyk was already on his way down most pound-for-pound charts due to his decision to face a kickboxer rather than a top heavyweight.
Despite DAZN’s insistence during the broadcast that Usyk remained number one, even in their own rankings Naoya Inoue was sitting above the Ukrainian before the blow was dealt at the Pyramids.
This alone suggested that Usyk was never going to retain his long-held number two position, regardless of the result.
The only real question was how far it would fall.
Usyk vs. Verhoeven fight
As detailed in WBN’s round-by-round live coverage, the performance itself only accelerated the slide.
Usyk fought for long stretches with Rico Verhoeven, a GLORY kickboxing legend taking part in only his second professional boxing competition.
Instead of controlling the fight with the dominance you’d expect from one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound stars, Usyk looked uncomfortable, frustrated and at times truly defenseless against Verhoeven’s awkward movements and odd timing.
Even when the champion finally succeeded delayed and forced a dramatic stoppage, more damage had already been done to his aura.
Usyk’s pound-for-pound decline
After ten rounds of the fight with Verhoeven, WBN decided on number six for Usyk, just above Devin Haney.
Naoya Inoue currently remains number one, with Shakur Stevenson, Jesse Rodriguez, Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez overtaking the heavyweight champion after the worst performance of Usyk’s career.
This leaves Usyk outside the sport’s true elite class for now, even as he insists on his top-flight status.
However, this is not about depriving Usyk of his achievements. It’s about recognizing the decisions made and the results achieved.
The Ukrainian remains undefeated, still holds the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles, and has won victories, among others. over Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
However, the pound-for-pound rankings are intended to reflect current form and dominance relative to expectations.
The heavyweight champion, widely considered one of the best fighters in the world, should not lose heavily in rounds to an opponent who is just emerging in professional boxing.
There is no escape from this reality, no matter how extraordinary Verhoeven’s boxing style and pedigree.
Usyk is no longer untouchable
The irony is that Usyk will likely win the rematch much easier if the two meet again.
The intrigue around the second fight had largely disappeared, as Usyk was now expected to prepare specifically for the unconventional attacks that had surprised him in Egypt.
However, the first impression cannot be erased, because for one night at the Pyramids, Oleksandr Usyk no longer looked untouchable.
And for a fighter at the very top of pound-for-pound boxing, that image will be challenging to erase from his legacy.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
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