Terence Crawford reveals the tactics he used to beat Canelo Álvarez

Once Saúl Álvarez signed the contract, Terence Crawford couldn’t hide his smile. The American knew the stage was the biggest of his career—and the perfect arena to prove that boxing still had an undefeated king. In his mind, the fight against Canelo was already won before the first bell rang.

On September 13 in Las Vegas, more than 70,000 fans filled Allegiant Stadium to witness what was billed as a fight for the ages. On one side stood Álvarez, the Mexican champion who had built a career as a global icon, his name carrying the weight of an entire sport. In the other corner was Crawford, moving up two weight classes and stepping into the brightest spotlight of his career.

The risk for the American seemed enormous. The reward? Infinite. Yet few in the industry believed he would pull it off.

FULL FIGHT AS IT HAPPENED: Crawford beats Canelo by unanimous decision

The key, as Crawford later admitted in an interview with Inside The Ring, was rooted in history. He had studied how Floyd Mayweather Jr. dismantled Álvarez with elusive defense. He had analyzed Dmitry Bivol’s disciplined approach, which neutralized him completely. He had even noticed lapses in the Mexican’s bout with William Scull, when Álvarez’s limited mobility betrayed him. For Crawford, the blueprint was clear.

“I knew I was going to beat him,” he said matter-of-factly. “Whenever Canelo faced a style like mine, he struggled. I had all those weapons—and more.”

Despite the grand setting, the fight began under muted expectations. Most assumed Álvarez’s size and power would end it well before the final bell. Canelo looked to impose his strength early, but quickly ran into an airtight defense. Crawford blocked, slipped, and countered with patience. His punches weren’t flashy, but they were relentless and effective.

Even as the rounds wore on, Crawford insisted Álvarez’s power never felt decisive. “There’s never been a formula to beat Terence Crawford,” he said. “So I knew I had a good chance of winning.”

While the crowd waited for Canelo’s explosion, Crawford quietly built a masterpiece of precision. As the championship rounds approached, his corner issued a final warning:“They’re not going to give it to you.”

Crawford responded by pressing harder, raising the tempo, and dominating the last two rounds. When the final bell rang, the judges confirmed what had already become obvious. A unanimous decision crowned a new king.

The victory extended Crawford’s record to 42–0 with 31 knockouts. More importantly, it placed him on a historic pedestal: the first fighter ever to unify all four major belts in three different divisions. The last fighter to achieve such dominance was Henry Armstrong in 1938, when “undisputed” carried a different weight.

And yet, in the aftermath, Crawford sounded almost indifferent. “I don’t feel anything special. It was meant to be,” he said calmly, as if greatness were his natural condition.

That, perhaps, is the most striking part of his story. Crawford never described the fight as an impossible feat, but as an inevitable outcome—the result of preparation, study, and conviction.

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The night of September 13 in Las Vegas will be remembered as a turning point in boxing. Not only because Álvarez ceded his throne to an opponent who outclassed him, but because Crawford reached a summit that had seemed locked in the pages of history. Since Henry Armstrong, no one had unified three divisions. Everyone doubted it could be done—except Crawford, who saw the weaknesses long before the contract was signed.

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