Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford B/R Staff Predictions

Forget all the sideshow fights. Forget all the pretenders.

This is the Fight of the Year.

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford face their sternest tests yet, as they meet in a once-in-a-lifetime showdown in Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Las Vegas Raiders, on Saturday night.

Both competitors are already made men in boxing. Both are four-division champions. A win for either pugilist would cement him into the Pantheon of greats.

The B/R combat sports team took stock of the combatants and provided their predictions below.

What's your take on the fight? Submit your thoughts in the comments section of the B/R app!

Bet on Canelo in This One

Al Bello/Getty Images for Netflix

This fight is totally in Canelo's hands. That's both a good and bad thing for the Mexican. It's no secret his pace has dropped off recently, but you'd assume the prospect of facing Crawford means we're going to see him up the ante and hit classic form.

If he does, there isn't much of a route to victory for his opponent. Crawford's added bulk is a little worrisome for his natural game, especially if Canelo pulls him into fighting fire with fire. The American will back himself, but he needs to keep it dull. We talk about size and strength for good reason, and it's a struggle to back a man whose natural frame is carrying more muscle than we've seen across his career so far.

What Crawford does possess in his favour is the speed and technical skill to make this a frustrating evening. Snatching a few early rounds will be vital if he's going to come close. If I'm his team, I'm screaming for him to protect his gas tank. Cover the body and do not give Canelo a target, even if his early pace plods slightly.

Ultimately, we're in for a treat. Everything is in favour of Canelo, so it's up to Crawford to use his brain and to make it an annoying evening for Alvarez, who many will be expecting to win. I can't quite bet against him yet, but I'm super excited to see this play out.

Prediction: Canelo by unanimous decision

—Nick Akerman

Crawford Is Game, but Canelo Has Too Much for Him

David Becker/Getty Images for Netflix

Let's call it as it is: This is a stacked deck against Crawford. And in a city like Las Vegas, you should know by now that the house always wins.

Crawford is going up in weight class to face Canelo for what will be a mega payday and a shot at immortality, but he's putting himself at a major disadvantage. We know Crawford has power (31 KOs), but does it translate against the much bigger Canelo?

Don't get me wrong, Canelo can't take Bud lightly. This is a premier boxer close to his athletic prime, and it's Alvarez's stiffest challenge since he faced Dmitry Bivol for the WBA light heavyweight title and lost. However, in that scenario, it was Canelo who was moving up.

The pick here is the power differential, and the weight cut takes its toll on Crawford.

Prediction: Canelo by unanimous decision

—Lucky Ngamwajasat

Competitive Crawford Gets It Done

Canelo is and has long been a beast. He's tough, he's sturdy, he can sustain a pace over 12 rounds and he's never had a problem getting up for big events.

But the same can be said of Crawford.

Not only has "Bud" never lost in a career stretching back to 2008, he's also almost never been close to doing so. In fact, it wasn't until his most recent fight—against an unheralded Israil Madrimov 13 months ago—that he nearly laid a 154-pound egg.

Some will point to that fight and say, "See, he can't handle the weight," and it's not as if they don't have a leg to stand on. It's the only time he's weighed beyond 147 in his career, and it may have been his least impressive performance.

I'm looking at it a little differently.

Not only was it wholly unimpressive, it'll be wholly motivating, too. It may be part of what compelled Crawford to chase Alvarez in the first place, alongside the irritation he felt knowing that Errol Spence Jr. was prematurely pondering a Canelo fight before he met Crawford in their welterweight showdown in July 2023.

The Nebraskan was completely revved and completely focused while delivering the best big-stage performance of his career that night, beating the previously unbeaten Spence into submission across nine rounds.

It won't look the same against Alvarez, but I'm banking on that same maniacal competitiveness to get him across the finish line Saturday night in the desert.

Prediction: Crawford by majority decision

—Lyle Fitzsimmons

Canelo Will Be Too Much

Steve Marcus/Getty Images

I came into this with the same thinking as Nick and Lucky. I was all set to back Canelo. Then I read Lyle's prediction, and was forced to contemplate my choice for a moment. Lyle has a lot more history in the boxing world than I do, and his predictions often make me look at things from different angles. His prediction above is a great example of this. He made some great points. Crawford might just rise to the occasion on Saturday—and I'd love to see it happen. Still, I've got to go with my gut. 

The odds are stacked in Canelo's favor in almost every way. He's bigger. He's probably stronger. He's comfortable at this weight. He has more fights — and certainly bigger ones than Crawford, even if none of them have made it onto Netflix till now. He's younger too, and you would not believe how many casual boxing fans don't know that. 

This is a huge fight. It has the potential to shape the immediate future of the sport. If it delivers, we could see a lot more huge boxing matches on Netflix in the coming years. If it fails like last fall's silliness did, we might not. I'm hoping for the former option. I hope it's a thrilling, back-and-forth fight. I don't see it happening that way though. I see the guy with every conceivable advantage winning. Not by knockout, but clearly nonetheless. Experience and physical advantages carry Canelo to the W.

Prediction: Canelo by unanimous decision 

—Tom Taylor