Two-time undisputed champion Terence Crawford and 168-pound unified champion Canelo Alvarez are reportedly in the midst of negotiations for a potential bout set to be held in September during the Mexican Independence Day weekend. With Las Vegas, Nevada, the expected destination for the bout if it were to be finalized, it appears a superfight between the two fighters is becoming much more of a realistic prospect this year.
Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) and Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KO’s) are reportedly still in talks with contracts having yet to be finalized for the purported September bout. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Saudi official Turki Alalshikh appears to be the guiding hand in helping make this fight behind the scenes:
“Turki Alalshikh and Canelo Alvarez didn’t seem to be on the same page last year, but I think everything changed when you had Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford both meeting separately with Turki Alalshikh last week in London,” Coppinger stated in the video accompanying his post.
“And from what I’m told, they’re in the process of finalizing this deal for a fight in September, on the Mexican Independence Day weekend. It will be in Las Vegas, and it’s going to be at the 168 lbs limit, no rehydration clause.“
The potential Alvarez-Crawford bout will see the absence of a rehydration clause despite the contest set to be held at super middleweight (168 lbs). This will highly favor Canelo Alvarez as he will be allowed to rehydrate without any restrictions, which in turn makes it a much more hazardous contest for Crawford who would be moving up at least 14 lbs from the super welterweight (154 lbs) division.
Both Crawford and Alvarez are currently in possession of world titles, with Crawford still possessing the WBA and WBO interim 154-pound titles since his August 1st victory over Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s), while Alvarez remains the WBA, WBC and WBO champion of the super middleweight division.