In the hugely successful career of Canelo Álvarez, three men have managed to get the better of the Mexican icon –– but only two are genuinely comparable.
Now 35, with an eye-opening 68 fights behind him, there is little Canelo has not witnessed in a boxing ring over his 20-year career. World titles at super-welterweight, middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight –– plus an undisputed crown –– have been matched by the millions he has earned along the way.
In 2013, however, he faced the ultimate litmus test when he met generational great Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas. Then younger and still developing, Canelo was given something close to a boxing lesson by the American, losing via majority decision –– a verdict that should have been unanimous were it not for Adelaide Byrd’s widely derided 114-114 card.
Fast-forward 12 years and Canelo again found himself opposite a slick, elite American technician: Terence Crawford. Canelo’s defence of his undisputed super-middleweight title ended in a punishing defeat as Crawford out-thought and out-fought a man many believed would be too big for him.
Any attempt to definitively separate Mayweather and Crawford is best left to those who have faced both –– and Canelo offered his view following the third defeat of his career in September.
“I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather.”
Between them, Mayweather and Crawford hold a remarkable combined record of 92 wins without a single loss. In 2026, the two could feature in the same calendar year for the first time since 2017, when Mayweather defeated Conor McGregor and Crawford beat both Felix Diaz and Julius Indongo, the latter earning him the undisputed super-lightweight championship.