Terence Crawford leans into villain role at weigh-in before Canelo Alvarez showdown

Terence Crawford is stepping into unfamiliar territory on Saturday night.

Not literally, of course. "Bud" has fought several times in Las Vegas, the site of his blockbuster showdown against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

But Crawford heads into the mega-fight, where he challenges undisputed super middleweight world champion Canelo, as the underdog. It's an unfamiliar status for the 41-0 fighter, who is looking to become an undisputed champion in three divisions.

• Read next | Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Who has the edge heading into their mega fight?

If not being favoured is a foreign feeling for the 37-year-old, playing the role of villain is certainly another. Las Vegas is undoubtedly Canelo's town, a true home away from home for the Mexican as he's fought an incredible 19 times in the City of Lights and has cultivated a huge following in the fight capital of the world.

Canelo's popularity in Las Vegas was on display Friday night at the ceremonial weigh-in, where the 35-year-old received a hero's welcome when he stepped out on stage at the T-Mobile Arena.

For his part, Crawford also earned some begrudging applause, based on the respect he's earned as a pound-for-pound great, but there was an obvious round of boos thrown his way as he stepped on the scale. The smiling Crawford took it in stride, shrugging off the jeers as he posed for the crowd.

Then, after the final face-off between the combatants, Crawford leaned into the villain role and immediately walked off stage without addressing the crowd, forcing Canelo to speak to emcee Max Kellerman first.

With both men weighing in at 167.5 pounds — a normal fighting weight for Canelo and the heaviest of Crawford's illustrious career, by far — Canelo was asked if he trained for speed against an opponent stepping up two weight classes to challenge him.

"I train for everything," the Mexican said. "In boxing, I need to put everything into this fight."

Candice Ward/Getty Images for Netflix

After Canelo spoke, it appeared momentarily as if the crowd would not hear from Crawford at all, but he dutifully returned to the stage and spoke on his new physique and how he feels 24 hours from the biggest fight of his career.

"Lovely," Crawford said. "I feel wonderful. I can't wait until tomorrow."

The boos grew louder even before his brief message was complete and Crawford headed offstage, but not before blowing kisses to the jeering crowd. If being the less popular man was getting to the Omaha, Nebraska icon, it certainly wasn't showing.

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