There’s a lot of speculation about what Saul” Canelo” Alvarez should do next in his iconic boxing career after losing his undisputed super middleweight belts to Terence Crawford on September 13.
On one hand, many feel like Canelo coming up short against Crawford (who cemented himself as one of the greatest boxers of this century with the win) is nothing to scoff at. While Crawford was the clear winner, it wasn’t like Canelo was blown out of the water or seemingly stood no chance against him. What’s more, it’s now known that Canelo entered the fight with an injured elbow, which required surgery and will keep him sidelined for a few months. One would think this played a role in his defeat.
On the other hand, Canelo has already cemented his legacy and made more money than anybody could spend across his career. In fact, there’s a case to be made that he would only be risking his legacy if he kept fighting. Therefore, many feel like the smartest course of action for Canelo would be to retire right now without endangering his health and legacy by stepping into the ring once again.
Canelo Alvarez during a press conference on September 10, 2025. / IMAGO / Hoganphotos
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One boxing legend who is clear about what he thinks Canelo’s next move should be is the great Roy Jones Jr., who conveyed his opinion when speaking with Fight Hub TV on October 25.
When asked his thoughts on what Crawford should do next in his career, he said, “Yeah, 160 [pounds] would be the thing… He [should fight next at] 160 and call it a day.”
Jones Jr. was then asked what he thought Canelo should do next, and said, “Maybe retire. What else does he have to prove? He proved everything he needed to prove. He challenged himself, he went as high as he could go, he came back down and made a ton of money. What else does he got to prove?”
While Jones Jr.’s sentiment makes a lot of sense, Canelo still has two fights left on his contract with Turki Alalshilh, and many estimate that Canelo is set to make around $100 million for each of those remaining bouts.
Even if Canelo has earned more money than he could ever spend at this point, that’s a whole lot of money to leave on the table, especially if Canelo is still one of the sport’s best boxers and hasn’t taken too much damage to this point.
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