Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Will either man get dropped for the first time in his career?

As we inch closer to the weekend’s generational battle between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford to find out who’s this era’s best, a heated question is will either man get dropped cleanly for the first time in his career?

It’s a tough call but we are leaning toward the answer to that inquiry being yes.

Though Canelo Alvarez has not registered a knockout since his 11^th-round TKO of Caleb Plant in November 2021, the undisputed world super middleweight crown holder did record knockdowns of four of his next seven opponents including John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga.

Although his hand speed has arguably waned a bit, Alvarez’ power is still there to force opponents off their feet.

Meanwhile, prior to moving up to 154 pounds and defeating Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision, Crawford was riding an 11-fight knockout streak, clearly showing the pop to his punch as well.

We’ve seen both Canelo and Crawford hurt before. Go back and watch the left hook Jose Cotto caught him with in the first round of their May 2010 bout. The shot wobbled the Mexican sensation as he needed to get his legs back under him to win.

Though Dmitry Bivol had him up against the ropes, landing one flush shot after another, Alvarez called for more fire. He was clearly getting laced up, but was not in danger of getting knocked down as the power of his legs had him firmly planted.

In June 2014, Yuriorkis Gamboa put Crawford on jelly legs before the pound-for-pound star regained his bearings to produce a ninth-round knockout.

The ‘Mean Machine’ Egidijus Kavaliauskas made ‘Bud’ taste the canvas and it was controversially ruled a slip. (Though I was at Madison Square Garden covering that December 2019 fight and it looked like a clean knockdown to me).

Heading into this mega bout in Las Vegas, oddsmakers have Canelo as a favorite to win by knockout and for good reason as Crawford is making the climb up 14 pounds to 168 where Alvarez is a pristine 11-0.

But just imagine the shock if Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) were to make Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) taste the canvas for the first time in 68 fights. Alvarez is the younger man at 35 to Crawford’s 37 but the Mexican face of boxing has way more fighting miles on him and can be hit.

A sweet scientist like Crawford, with extra muscle, catching Alvarez cleanly should be interesting — as intriguing as Canelo detonating a devastating hook on ‘Bud.’

If we were to predict how either man would get dropped, we'd lean toward a flash knockdown.

But perhaps it could be a knockdown even more significant. After all, Canelo and Crawford are this generation’s best. We wouldn’t put anything past them.

Watch Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan II on DAZN

Watch Lewis Crocker vs Paddy Donovan II, plus the whole undercard from Belfast's Windsor Park, with a DAZN subscription this September.

For more information on how to sign up, click here.