Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez suffered the third defeat of his career in 2025 – his first at super-middleweight – when Terence Crawford outpointed him over twelve rounds.
Despite his pound-for-pound credentials, many in the sport felt the move up in weight would be a step too far for Crawford, who had just one fight at 154lbs before signing to face Canelo at 168lbs.
On fight night, he did everything right and earned the nod on all three judges’ cards, with scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113. Crawford became the undisputed super-middleweight world champion and cemented his legacy. He would retire just a couple of months later.
Though Alvarez will fight on and has his ring return booked for September this year, his comments on the defeat point to a fighter who, at 35 years old and with 532 rounds under his belt, is now feeling the effects of a long career.
Speaking on the Mr Versace podcast, the Mexican icon praised Crawford but said that his body was not responding in the way he wanted.
“A lot of things [went wrong]. My body [didn’t] respond the way I really wanted, because I wanted to be faster, and this and that, and then I didn’t recuperate my weight like I needed to. My legs felt a little bit tired, too. But he deserved all the credit. He made a better strategy than me, but I think I did well … It is what it is, you need to take the losses and learn from that and keep going.
“[Trainer Eddy Reynoso] told me everything, and I tried, but my body didn’t respond. I had cramps in my legs. It didn’t respond the way I really wanted. We learn from that and we move forward. I know what mistakes I made in the fight and in the camp too. That’s what boxing is about. A winner doesn’t mean you win every time. You need to learn from everything.”
Canelo is set to go straight back into championship contention this year, with a return confirmed at 168lbs and billed as a world title fight. Though the plans are still being finalised, Christian Mbilli, who now holds the WBC belt, is the frontrunner.
Whether or not camp goes better this time remains to be seen, though Canelo should at least be refreshed in one department, having undergone successful elbow surgery on a long-standing injury.