Canelo Alvarez believes a victory over Terence Crawford will show why he fought Floyd Mayweather too early.

Boxing superstar Alvarez will return to the ring in an exciting 2025, first looking to beat William Scull and become undisputed champion at 168lbs again.

Canelo fought Mayweather aged 23 and came up short
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Canelo fought Mayweather aged 23 and came up shortCredit: Getty
A huge mega-fight with Terence Crawford, one of boxing’s biggest names, lays in wait in September in Las Vegas.

Victory for the Mexican would be one of the biggest in his ca

reer given the American holds an undefeated record.

‘Bud’ is also a four-weight world champion and has faced comparisons to boxing legend Mayweather.

Alvarez fought Mayweather himself in 2013 at the age of just 23, and succumbed to a points defeat being outboxed by the more experienced American.

It was widely believed including by the Mexican that he accepted the fight too early in his career, a theory he backs and thinks will apply more than ever in 2025.

“Yeah, to show people I’m different now with the experience, the fighter that I am today,” he told Ring Magazine.

“I always think that I needed more years before I fought Mayweather.

“Things happened and I learned a lot, and I don’t blame myself because of that.

“It’s kind of an opportunity to show what kind of fighter that I am.”

Despite his defeat to Mayweather, the now 34-year-old has gone on to achieve a huge list of feats.

Illustration of Errol Spence Jr. and Canelo Álvarez facing off in a boxing ring.
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Canelo believes victory over Crawford is enough to prove it was too early
He has gone on to win world titles in three more weight classes, and is the current champion at super-middleweight.

Alvarez has a whole host of high-profile victories including over Gennady Golovkin, Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto.

He has been beaten by just one fighter since losing to Mayweather, Dmitry Bivol in a step up to 175lbs in 2022.

This time it will be Crawford who is stepping up to Alvarez’s weight to challenge for undisputed honours.

It promises to be a huge event, perhaps the biggest in the sport this year.

And the modern era icon believes it could eclipse his own fight with Mayweather in terms of commercial revenue and interest.

Canelo has still gone on to make huge strides in the sport
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Canelo has still gone on to make huge strides in the sportCredit: Getty
He said: “I think it’s going to be bigger, even than the Mayweather fight (against me).

“It’s going to be bigger than that. Yes I think so [will sell more pay-per-views.

“Just look how much he’s accomplished and just look how much I accomplished.

“So imagine two fighters with those accomplishments. It’s huge. Huge.

“And I think that’s why I think now it makes sense for a lot of reasons.

“Everybody says he’s a smaller fighter, but I’ve won titles in four weight classes, so I know great fighters can succeed at higher weights.”