Much has been made about Terence Crawford jumping up several weight divisions to fight Canelo Alvarez for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight belts on September 13.
While there is a ton of excitement about this showdown, some boxing fans are worried about whether Crawford will be able to compensate for being at a size disadvantage against Canelo. Because of this, there has been a lot of speculation on how Crawford was going to prepare his body for the bout.
Some believe that Crawford’s best course of action was to put on as much weight as possible to match Canelo’s power and hopefully have a better chance of absorbing the Mexican superstar’s punches. Others believe Crawford would be wiser to remain lean so that he can maximize his speed and ability advantages, especially because he probably wouldn’t have enough power to knock Canelo out anyway.
IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Because of these questions, fans have been fascinated to see what Crawford would look like physically heading into the September 13 fight.
In the lead-up to the fight, Crawford has posted several photos of himself without his shirt off. And given that Crawford has looked absolutely shredded in these photos, fans were convinced that he is opting to remain lean and keep his speed advantage over Canelo.
However, a recent photo that has surfaced now has fans confused.
On September 6, reigning UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria posted a photo of himself alongside Crawford on X with the caption, “Who wins in a fight?”
Crawford lacks any muscle definition in the photo, which has fans baffled about his appearance.
Who wins in a fight? pic.twitter.com/Ku7nxYE0Lv
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) September 6, 2025
Wade Plemons, who is a commentator for Ring Magazine, replied to this post and wrote, “Wait a second.. is this pic from today??
“Where is the shredded Bud Crawford I saw yesterday 🧐”.
Wait a second.. is this pic from today??
Where is the shredded Bud Crawford I saw yesterday 🧐 https://t.co/ikJVZqAOLS
— Wade Plemons (@WadePlem) September 6, 2025
Another fan posted side-by-side photos of Crawford’s physique in this photo compared to his most recent shirtless post that Plemons alluded to.
Tinder Real life pic.twitter.com/R5VBRVVW5U
— Nadim Haddad (@NadimElHaddad1) September 7, 2025
Despite the confusion that Topuria’s photo has caused, reports are now coming out that the photo of him and Crawford is from back in June, when Topuria was in town to fight for the UFC lightweight belt.
This would make much more sense, and would explain why Crawford’s physique looks completely different in the photo of the two together than the ones he has been posting recently.
🥊 CRAWFORD UPDATE
A viral photo of Terence Crawford appearing out of shape has sparked concern just a week before his fight with Canelo Álvarez.
We’ve confirmed the photo was taken in June at the UFC PI in Vegas, where Crawford crossed paths with Ilia Topuria. pic.twitter.com/kVsdotWBrD
— Twan 🦍 (@ThinkerBoxing) September 7, 2025
It seems that fans can expect the more ripped version of Crawford to enter the ring against Canelo next weekend.
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