Should Canelo Álvarez vacate his titles? Paulie Malignaggi thinks so

Canelo Alvarez has always been a fighter who knows his worth. When the idea of him fighting Terence Crawford was tossed around, it wasn’t long before Paulie Malignaggi, former boxer and now a vocal pundit, chimed in. Malignaggi sees this whole scenario as a clear-cut case of Canelo trying to cash in big by taking advantage of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s enthusiasm for high-profile bouts. “Canelo is looking for easy pickings for later in his career,” Malignaggi shared on the talkSport Boxing YouTube channel. And to Malignaggi, Crawford moving up two weight classes to face Canelo is just the kind of ‘fantasy fight’ that Alvarez might entertain - for a ridiculous sum of money, of course.

You see, boxing isn’t just about throwing punches anymore; it’s about who controls the belts, who makes the money, and who calls the shots. Malignaggi doesn’t mince words when he talks about the current state of the sport. “The fact that he’s been able to avoid a mandatory for three years is absolutely appalling. The sanctioning bodies should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.” And Paulie’s not wrong. Canelo has managed to sidestep mandatory defenses, keeping his belts and his options open, even if it means a hefty payday is his only motivation to fight someone like Crawford.

But there’s more to the story than just dollars and cents. Canelo’s reluctance to fight Crawford isn’t just about money; it’s about legacy. Beating up on a smaller, aging fighter like Crawford, who nearly got outboxed by Israil Madrimov, isn’t going to earn him any praise from the boxing purists. “Canelo knows he’ll be criticized for fighting Crawford and dumped on by fans, no matter how his fight ends,” Malignaggi said. Canelo, ever the strategist, knows that this fight could be a lose-lose situation: win, and he gets mocked for beating a guy two weight classes below him; lose, and his reputation takes a massive hit.

Meanwhile, the chatter about Canelo vs. Crawford keeps circulating, mainly because Crawford himself has been pushing for it, dreaming of that one last big payday before hanging up his gloves. Malignaggi understands the game well, knowing why Crawford is so eager to step into the ring with Canelo, “He’s rich and not interested in facing many tough guys who are at the top of their game and better than anyone he’s ever fought during his 16-year career.” In other words, Crawford wants the easy road out, and Canelo, for the right price, might just give it to him.

But Malignaggi isn’t buying into the hype. He’s seen Crawford struggle against Madrimov, barely eking out a win, and it left him with doubts. “If you ask me, that fight came down to the last couple of rounds. Madrimov is good,” he observed, adding that Crawford at 154 pounds isn’t the same beast he was at 147. For Crawford, the big paydays may soon dry up, and he could be facing some tough, hungry fighters who won’t be as easy to handle. One defeat, and the Canelo fight is off the table.

Turki Alalshikh, for his part, seems eager to set up these blockbuster fights, but Malignaggi has a word of caution for him too. “One thing I don’t like about Turki Alalshikh is he talks like he’s making tune-up fights. These aren’t tune-up fights. You can’t predict the winners.” And he’s right - anything can happen in the ring. But as much as Turki dreams of mega-fights like Canelo vs. Crawford, the reality of boxing is that no outcome is guaranteed.

In the end, Canelo will do what he always does: make the best business decision for himself. If that means fighting Crawford for an eye-watering sum of money, he might do it. But make no mistake, it’s not because he thinks Crawford is his greatest challenge. It’s because he knows that the game of boxing, as it stands today, is as much about the bottom line as it is about belts and glory.