Last month, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KO) lost all of his super middleweight titles to Terence “Bud” Crawford (42-0-0, 31 KO) in a relatively one-sided fight. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that Crawford jumped two (actually three) weight classes for this monumental achievement. Canelo, gracious in defeat, made no excuses after the defeat, and while there were rumors of a rematch, no official announcements were made.

Everything will depend on Canelo’s motivation and whether he wants a rematch, which will not be as intriguing for the boxing public as the initial fight. There were many unknowns before the first fight, including: whether Crawford will be able to handle Alvarez’s power, whether Crawford himself will have enough power at 168 pounds, and whether both will still have enough left in the tank in their mid-to-late 30s. With both of them performing poorly, it was firm to imagine what everything would look like on fight night. Many thought everything would become clear once the fight was announced; however, the closer the fight got, the more people began to gravitate towards Crawford and his impressive boxing intellect.

All questions were answered as Crawford showed that he is still very fresh and has gained fantastic weight, and Canelo showed that he still has problems with boxers who are good at distance. Despite all the talk in the build-up about how aged and ineffective Canelo looked against Scull, he didn’t seem to have lost a step, but instead was beaten down, caught with off-rhythm strikes and unable to cope with the angles set up by Crawford. His hands were quick and his shots were as good as ever, but Crawford simply proved to be too elusive a target. Crawford managed range with intelligent feet and made excellent exploit of his lead hand to prevent Canelo from landing massive shots and landing cleanly.

Canelo, somewhat surprisingly, never tried to find his jab that would at least allow him to compete with Bud for distance control. Although he was outclassed, he managed to show his heart by continuing to hit firm and push forward, even though Crawford often encouraged him to shoot from odd angles. Even towards the end of the fight, Canelo pressed firm at several points, but each time he was met with long, dizzying combinations in retaliation. By the end of the night, Canelo was beaten and he knew it. No excuses were given and there was no post-fight controversy. The result was cut and dried.

A few weeks after the fight, it was announced that Canelo would undergo elbow surgery, which may have been the result of overextension on shots that never connected home. Either way, there is no speculation that he entered the fight with an elbow injury, as most assume his discomfort was a result of the fight.

Both fighters have many opportunities for further development if they decide to continue their boxing careers. Crawford can drop down to 160 or 154 pounds and be the undisputed scorer in either division, and assuming he doesn’t age out in the next few years, he’ll likely master another division. Canelo could make a money fight with almost anyone if he still has the will to fight, or he could opt for a rematch with Crawford to get a better result.

As for a possible rematch, Crawford’s trainer, Brian “Bo-Mac” McIntyre, assured that Canelo would not be interested in such a rematch due to how comfortably his fighter defeated him in the initial fight. This is a secure assumption, but not bulletproof. While you’d be hard-pressed to find a seasoned boxing fan who would argue that Canelo can rival Crawford in terms of ring IQ, he’s still no slouch when it comes to boxing smarts. Historically, it has bounced back from losses with some fresh tools and a fresh approach. Although he lost a one-sided match to Floyd Mayweather Jr., he was able to learn from school and become a much more intellectual fighter. After his first fight with Golovkin, which many felt he should have lost, he bounced back with a more refined style of aggression. There wasn’t much to take away from the loss to Bivol except that Canelo already weighed 168 pounds and that today’s fighters with intelligent legs were always going to be a problem for him.

If he decides to proceed, he will likely go back to the drawing board with his team, and one of the most essential conclusions will surely be that the omission of the stabbing was the beginning of the end. Without the jab, Crawford had all the time in the world to pick the perfect shots and keep Canelo blinded and guessing.

It would also be wise to work on combining lateral movement with forward pressure due to Crawford’s primarily southpaw stance. During exchanges, Crawford often took a wide stance, with his upper body pulled back and away from the midline, taking shots from distance while in the pocket (high IQ) because he knew Canelo would move rather than go around.

Crawford will adjust as well, of course, but perhaps if Canelo can make him a little more competitive, he will regain some of the prestige that brought him refinement after his loss to Mayweather Jr. The average boxing fan has already stated that Alvarez was never that good to begin with, not considering that two of his three losses were to generational fighters. Downplaying Canelo’s achievements and skills because he was beaten by one of the smartest fighters we will likely ever see would also diminish Crawford’s greatness.

And finally, does Canelo have a chance to fully rebuild and elevate his legacy in a rematch? According to the author, this will only happen by knocking out Terence Crawford, which is harder to imagine than a fighter jumping through three weight classes to defeat the undisputed champion in his first fight.