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Does Canelo still have the power to stop Crawford after four years without a knockout?
Canelo Alvarez will bid to prove he is still the face of boxing when he defends his super middleweight titles against Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The Mexican superstar has been at the top of the sport for almost 15 years after winning his first world championship in 2011 and has provided some unforgettable nights for fans all over the world during his illustrious career.
But it has been several years since he delivered a signature knockout performance. Canelo has not stopped any of his last seven opponents – a run stretching back to November 2021 – and looked lethargic in his last outing against William Scull in May.
This begs the question: does a 35-year-old Canelo still have the power to put his rivals away?
Ahead of his huge fight with Crawford this weekend, let’s assess whether Canelo is capable of ending the contest inside the distance.
Who was the last opponent that Canelo stopped?Leigh Dawney/Queensberry
Canelo has won 63 of his 67 professional fights, with 39 of those victories coming by way of knockout. His power has not been a problem across his 20-year professional career.
But it has been four years since he ended a fight early. On that occasion, Canelo stopped Caleb Plant in the 11th round to become the undisputed super middleweight champion for the first time.
Plant had frustrated Canelo for long periods in the fight, with his well-honed ‘Philly Shell’ defensive technique preventing him from getting hit cleanly.
Canelo finally broke through in the championship rounds, though, landing a left hook on the ropes that sent Plant down for the first time.
Plant got back up but was on very unsteady legs as he wobbled across the ring before eventually convincing the referee he was able to continue.
Canelo sensed his moment and pounced on Plant, landing a flurry of heavy shots that forced another knockdown as the referee stepped in to wave off the fight.
It was a clinical finish from Canelo that proved he still had his killer instinct.
Al Bello/Getty Images
The Bivol loss
After cementing his place as the best fighter in the world at 168lbs, Canelo jumped up to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in his next fight.
Canelo had already won a light heavyweight title against an ageing Sergey Kovalev three years earlier but wanted to show he could beat a prime Bivol.
However, he fell well short against his fellow pound-for-pound star. Bivol controlled the fight from start to finish behind his jab as he outboxed Canelo for 12 rounds.
It was hard to give Canelo more than three rounds as Bivol coasted to a points win. The Mexican was made to look slow, ponderous and lacked snap in his punches.
Having appeared unbeatable for several years, Canelo had suddenly been taken apart and had to go back to the drawing board.
How did Canelo respond to Bivol defeat?
Losing so comprehensively to Bivol must have been a shock to the system for Canelo. But he went straight back in with Gennady Golovkin for their trilogy fight just four months later.
Their previous two bouts had been thrilling spectacles, yet the third was a rather subdued affair.
That suited Canelo fine as he boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory against the 40-year-old Golovkin.
But it was a first indication that his approach had changed post-Bivol. Canelo seemed content to simply get his hand raised as he failed to put his foot on the accelerator to force a stoppage.
He has fought five times since beating Golovkin, with each fight following a similar pattern. Every time, Canelo has been awarded a unanimous decision win without looking like finishing the night early.
Has Canelo lost his killer instinct?Ed Mullholland/Matchroom
After ending his rivalry with Golovkin, Canelo scored a knockdown in each of his next four fights against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga.
Yet all four men still heard the final bell.
Canelo’s ability to drop his opponents highlights he still possesses the power to hurt anyone in his weight class. Crawford is a naturally smaller man and Canelo ought to believe he can hurt him as well.
But can he keep Crawford down? At his best, Canelo was a ruthless finisher, but he has not shown that killer instinct for some time and has let his opponents off the hook.
In his last fight against William Scull, Canelo looked even more circumspect and appeared reluctant to let his hands go.
An old boxing adage is that a fighter’s power is the last thing to leave them. However, one of the first things to go is their ability to pull the trigger, and there were signs that Canelo was struggling to find the punches that once came so naturally to him in his forgettable clash with Scull.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Does Canelo have to knock out Crawford to beat him?
Canelo has won his last six fights on points and may feel he can do the same again on Saturday night.
But Crawford is an unbeaten pound-for-pound great who will not just be coming to survive like some of Canelo’s recent rivals.
William Scull had the chance to beat an off-colour Canelo in May but simply wasn’t active enough. He made Canelo miss but did not make him pay. Crawford is unlikely to make the same mistake.
He watched the fight from ringside and will have seen how cumbersome Canelo looked. Crawford will believe he can pick Canelo off from range and stay out of danger by making sure he is never a static target.
If Canelo is going to rely on a low output strategy again, it is easy to see how Crawford could build a lead on the scorecards simply by staying busy.
In this scenario, Canelo will have to rediscover his killer instinct to keep the fight out of the hands of the judges and show that he is still the man at 168lbs.
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