Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez has downplayed the resume of Terence Crawford in a scathing rebuke yet has notably faced opponents that were neither as accomplished nor fought anyone as relevant as Crawford. With the build-up to the September 13th fight between the two heating up, Alvarez maintaining the belief of Crawford’s past opponents having been inadequate is not only a fallacy ― it is a direct insult to most of the opponents Alvarez has faced over the past couple of years.

During an interview conducted by The Ring between Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KO’s), Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s), UFC chairman Dana White, retired NFL star Tom Brady and former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal, Crawford’s resume was put under the spotlight as Alvarez highlighted he hadn’t fought anyone of note or significant ability.

“Don’t get me wrong, he’s [Terence Crawford] a good fighter, a great fighter,” Alvarez said during the G.O.A.T.S Podcast. “But if you look into his career, name me one elite fighter. Just mention me one elite fighter.”

As Terence Crawford would subsequently name opponents, mentioning both Viktor Postol and Ricky Burns, Canelo Alvarez downplayed both opponents’ achievements by citing examples of why there irrelevant unknown ― including a mention of Postol being beat down by an unnamed 40-year old fighter during sparring.

Defining what is elite competition is quite difficult as many factors come into play, from world title fights to opponents faced, but using several key hallmarks of what is considered “elite”, a top-ranked status ― either that of a world champion or a top contender, an unbeaten record and even Olympic achievements can be factored into what can be considered elite.

Which according to Crawford’s resume boils down to roughly eight or nine opponents that have been identified.

With Errol Spence Jr. regarded as the best name on Crawford’s resume due to his pound-for-pound and unified champion status at the time; Yuriorkis Gamboa, Shawn Porter, Jeff Horn, Julius Indongo, Viktor Pistol, Kell Brook and Amir Khan would further qualify as “elite”. Israil Madrimov and Egidijus Kavaliauskas remain notable mentions, with Madrimov having attained the WBA world title prior to losing it to Terence Crawford, while Kavaliauskas was considered a top contender for several years before he finally gained the opportunity to fight Crawford for his WBO welterweight (147 lbs) title.

Out of the eight aforementioned opponents [barring Madrimov and Kavaliauskas] that Terence Crawford faced, five of them were undefeated prior to facing him. All of them were or had been world champions before they stepped in the ring with Crawford, while five of Crawford’s opponents had further unified or netted titles in more than one division.

Objectively, Crawford has faced more elite opponents than any of Alvarez’ past ten opponents, which makes for a rather startling subversion of reality when considering Alvarez had faced no one more accomplished other than Floyd Mayweather Jr. ― with even former opponent and Kazakh legend Gennady Golovkin’s resume not matching up to Crawford’s.

To further provide context regarding who Gennady Golovkin faced, only David Lemieux and Kell Brook had been champions ― with the latter having moved up two weight classes to middleweight (160 lbs) for his fight against Golovkin. Brook’s own IBF welterweight title, which he would hold for several years, would later be claimed by Errol Spence Jr ― who Crawford would go on to beat handily during their undisputed fight.

Former Golovkin opponent Daniel Jacobs did eventually become a world champion at 168 lbs after facing Golovkin and would go on to lose the title his very next match to Canelo Alvarez ― similar to Lemieux who lost his title the very next match in a unified contest with Golovkin.

The rest of Alvarez’ opponents do not hold a candle to Crawford’s resume. Alvarez’ penultimate opponent, Edgar Berlanga, had faced no former or current world champions nor any top-rated contender.

Jaime Munguia’s ― who Canelo Alvarez faced prior to Berlanga ― best win remains former WBO super welterweight (154 lbs) champion Liam Smith, while Sadam Ali is a notable mention given Munguia beat him to obtain the WBO title, also at 154 lbs. Despite this, Munguia’s resume remains devoid of actual fighters that could be considered elite, with largely Ukrainian fighter Sergiy Derevyanchenko ― who never became a world champion ― remaining the only notable fighter after Smith and Ali.

Cuban fighter William Scull, who Canelo Alvarez faced last, has no resume worth mentioning and only fought Alvarez due to having the IBF super middleweight (168 lbs) title which Alvarez needed to become undisputed.

Former Alvarez opponent Jermell Charlo, the former undisputed super welterweight (154 lbs) champion, can count only Jeison Rosario, Brian Castano and Tony Harrison on his resume ― with his initial bouts with the latter two having to result in rematches. Notably, Charlo drew with Castano during their first fight to become undisputed, while Harrison had never challenged for a title before winning Charlo’s. As a result of Charlo winning back his title from Harrison during their rematch in 2019, Harrison is included as a former world champion that Charlo beat ― but the context of Harrison only having been a champion by defeating Charlo is highly prevalent when examining his resume.

Another Canelo Alvarez opponent in John Ryder had several world title challenges but never achieved full championship glory. Ryder notably retired after facing Jaime Munguia in what would become his farewell match ― a bout that would occur shortly after Ryder’s loss to Alvarez in 2023.

Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 KO’s), now the undisputed light-heavyweight (175 lbs) champion, was a world champion at the time he fought and defeated Canelo Alvarez, but he himself did not have the same comparable resume to Terence Crawford ― having only held the WBA belt before his 2022 fight against Alvarez with only multi-time world champion Jean Pascal qualifying as an elite opponent he fought.

A mention towards American contender Joe Smith Jr, who became a world champion after losing to Bivol, would not be unsuited while current unified cruiserweight (200 lbs) champion Gilberto Ramirez is also a relevant name ― though Bivol faced him after fighting Alvarez.

Caleb Plant, who Alvarez fought to become undisputed, had a less than stellar resume with Venezuelan fighter Jose Uzcategui regarded as his best opponent due to having won the IBF interim title. Uzcategui never actually for a world title, being elevated from the position of IBF interim champion to world champion ― losing his title to plant in his first world title defense. Plant’s most notable feat is defending his title thrice up until his stoppage loss to Alvarez in 2021.

British fighter Billy Joe Saunders roughly counts as the most relevant fighter on Alvarez’ resume after Golovkin but mainly due to defeating Irish legend Andy Lee to become a world champion for the first time, after which the only other notable and potential elite fighter he faced was David Lemieux. While Chris Eubank Jr. is counted as a relevant win for Saunders due to his recognizable name, he could hardly be considered elite at the time due to his lack of experience and achievements.

Lastly, the tenth opponent Alvarez last faced was Turkish fighter Avni Yildirim who was largely regarded as an unworthy contender when he faced Alvarez.

Alvarez’ most notable wins were over a decade ago due to having faced Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, two fighters who were undoubtedly elite at some point of their careers, though his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. ― the most prevalent fighter Alvarez ever faced ― can further not be discounted.

Austin Trout should be mentioned as an elite fighter that Alvarez faced alongside Erislandy Lara ― whose match with Alvarez remains steeped in controversy and who later became a world champion twice, while Amir Khan remains a notable name for Alvarez. Brothers Liam and Callum Smith are also former opponents that could be construed as elite.

With more names such as Sergey Kovalev on his resume, Alvarez clearly has more relevant opponents than Crawford, as is befitting a fighter that is branded the “face” of boxing.

But discrediting Terence Crawford’s resume does not reflect well on his own. By styling Crawford’s opponents as fighters that weren’t elite, Alvarez shortcuts his own achievements when the fighters he fought become scrutinized; with the likes of Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs ― who became a world champion after his loss to Alvarez, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders and other fighters hardly being able to be considered elite themselves ― not to mention Alvarez’ more recent opponents.

What is clear is that Crawford has a distinguished list of opponents on his record that earned him a spot as a top pound-for-pound contender, something that only former Alvarez opponents in Bivol and Golovkin managed to attain, yet their own resumes do not stack up to Crawford’s.

And, of course, when comparing Alvarez’ resume to any other current non-heavyweight champion, it’s more of the same with Alvarez clearly being ahead in that regard due to the multitude of names he’s fought.

Which puts together a clearer context of the resumes of both Alvarez and Crawford, with both having faced fighters that can be considered elite but with Alvarez’ clearly standing above that of Crawford ― and that of literally any other welll-known fighter.

As the face of boxing, there’s likely not any fighter that can claim to have fought as many notable opponents as the Mexican undisputed champion, but there is certainly a claim by Crawford to be made that he is second- or third-best when it comes to resumes.

This becomes even more glaring when comparing Crawford’s resume to other pound-for-pound non-heavyweight fighters with the only arguable match being Naoya Inoue, who also occupies a top pound-for-pound position on all the relevant rankings like Alvarez and Crawford.