Mexican Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez will return to the ring next September 12 in Riyadhthe capital of Saudi Arabia, against an opponent not yet determined.
Turki Alalshikh, owner of the magazine Ring Magazineannounced this Thursday on social networks the return of the Mexican boxer in a function that will be called Mexico against the worldand which will be celebrated hours before the anniversary of Mexico’s Independence.
Álvarez lost his super middleweight division titles on September 25 when he was beaten by the American Terrence Crawford, after which the fighter underwent elbow surgery.
Ante Crawford, The Mexican showed little speed and was overtakenwhich, in addition to costing him the world belts, raised the question about how much time he has left in boxing.
‘Canelo’ and his team had stated that they wanted a rematch against ‘Bud’; However, Terence Crawford retired from professional boxing, with his fight against the Mexican being the last in his perfect record history.
With 63 victories, 39 by knockout; 3 draws and 2 losses, Álvarez is the best Mexican boxer in the last 25 years. However, he has been questioned for avoiding rivals, such as the American David Benavidez, who has challenged the Guadalajara again and again but has not accepted ‘Canelo’.
Benavidez has the light heavyweight belt of the World Boxing Council and does not seem likely to be the opponent of ‘Canelo’, who will try to regain the belts lost to Crawfordwhich remained vacant.
After losing on May 7, 2022 to the Russian Dmitry Bivol, the Mexican won six consecutive fights, but in none of them could he win before the limit (knockout), which he did for the last time in 2021 against the American Caleb Plant.
Crawford believes that ‘Canelo’ underestimated him
Recently, Terence Crawford stated that Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez underestimated him and that this misreading was decisive in the development of the fight that marked his undefeated retirement.
The American boxer explained that his previous expectation was to face a much more demanding fight, but inside the ring the perception changed quickly. “I thought it was going to be harderbut when I started measuring it I understood that I already had it,” said ‘Bud’ Crawford in a talk with the streamer Adin Ross.
The American boxer assured that, from the first rounds, he did not perceive significant adjustments in ‘Canelo’s strategy. In his opinion, the Mexican maintained the same approach without clear variations, which made his reading of the fight easier. “In the first and second round absolutely nothing was changing,” he said during the broadcast.
Crawford also explained that the only real option for Álvarez was to increase the pressurealthough that involved taking risks. “If he tried to push me any further, he was going to be exposed to the counterattacks”, he noted when analyzing the scenarios he saw in the ring.
‘Bud’ recalled that much of the public debate focused on the size and resistance of ‘Canelo’, as well as the possibility that he would be defeated by knockout. “They were talking about him going to knock me out, but not about whether I could hurt him,” he said.
According to Crawford, the development of the fight modified that narrative. “As seen in the fight, He greatly respected my power”, he concluded.
