Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Is either superstar in decline ahead of mega-fight encounter?

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford did not exactly deliver star-studded performances in their last fights, respectively.

This past May, Alvarez scored a unanimous decision over Cuban fighter William Scull in a relatively low action bout mired by the latter’s nonstop movement around the ring.

The August prior, Crawford moved up from being the undisputed welterweight king to manage a unanimous decision victory of his own in becoming a 154-pound world champion by defeating Israil Madrimov.

Though he got the job done, the high-level chess match pushed ‘Bud’ to the distance for the first time in nearly eight years with critics and fans questioning at that time whether he made the right move in climbing up another weight class.

All this being said, when it comes to Canelo vs. Crawford on Saturday night, are there signs of either boxing superstar declining entering this mega fight?

We lean toward chalking up each boxer's last performance as an aberration — due to unique opponents — more than a decline.

Both Scull and Madrimov are awkward and offer their share of complexities in the ring.

Scull was on his bicycle around the ring, more content in survival mode than actually engaging with Alvarez. That incessant motor had Canelo in constant pursuit.

While detractors could point to Alvarez’ inability to effectively cut off the ring to really put heavy hands on the Cuban as a sign of decline, it was more Scull doing whatever it took to use his conditioning to stay well clear of any fire.

“That’s why I don’t like to fight those kinds of guys,” a frustrated Alvarez told DAZN’s Chris Mannix in the ring following that win. “They come just to survive, to go to the 12^th round. For me, it’s a boring fight, a fighter not trying to win, just try to survive. I hate that kind of fighters.”

As for Crawford, he had a tougher time than expected against a bouncy Madrimov who relied on jittery feinting and posturing as his unrelenting movement to give ‘Bud’ fits.

Crawford’s points win over Madrimov snapped the Omaha, Nebraska native’s knockout streak at 11.

“He was waiting to counter me just like I was trying to counter him,” Crawford told Mannix after that fight. “He was disciplined. He didn’t come in throwing wild shots like I intended hm to do.”

While some believe Crawford might have shown some cracks in his 154-pound debut, it was more a clash of styles that made for a tactical chess match than any signs of a decline.

Crawford, 37, and Canelo, 35 with 67 fights to his ledger, have plenty of fighter miles on them.

But they are still in possession of some of the sharpest sweet science skills with excellent ring IQs that point to this bout reinforcing their greatness more than fighting off any signs of decline.

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