With a stunning 67 pro fights under his belt, Canelo Alvarez has accumulated a wealth of high-level experience in his career.
The Mexican star is an incredibly impressive technician but he also brings huge power to the table, with Alvarez having some devastating knockouts in his highlight reel.
He’s put this power to the test against many iconic opponents and his next outing on September 13 is another chance to do just that.
Alvarez ranked Terence Crawford higher than the only two men to have beaten him, showing just how much respect he has for the skills that ‘Bud’ possesses.
Crawford is a very impressive finisher even if he’s not known for putting people out with one shot, but Alvarez is certainly no stranger to dangerous opponents.
Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty ImagesCanelo Alvarez names James Kirkland as the hardest hitter he’s faced in his career
In what will likely be the one and only trilogy of his career, Canelo Alvarez went toe-to-toe with Gennady Golovkin in 2017, 2018 and 2022.
While he was no longer at his best by the time that they met for a third and final time, Golovkin was one of the most feared punchers in the world heading into his first war with the Mexican superstar.
He retired following his final encounter with Alvarez and ended his career with a total of 37 knockouts in 42 wins.
Despite the remarkable power of ‘GGG’, Alvarez doesn’t believe that he, or one of the other iconic legends that he faced, were the hardest hitter that he came up against.
When speaking at a press conference ahead of his trilogy with Golovkin, he responded to a question about the hardest hitter he’s faced by naming James Kirkland as his surprise answer.
Kirkland recorded 30 of his 34 wins by way of knockout and was dismantled in just three rounds by Alvarez when they faced off in Houston, Texas in May of 2015.
“Kirkland. It was unbelievable. I feel that punch right here [tapping his arm], I was like, ‘Oh my god’.”
Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford’s finishing stats compared
Considering that Terence Crawford is moving up to super middleweight for his upcoming clash with Canelo Alvarez on September 13, many will be expecting the Mexican to hold a power advantage.
‘Bud’ has continuously moved up through weight classes and while Alvarez has done the same, the size difference between them could be a huge factor on fight night.
That being said, while there are other factors to consider like who the opponents are and what weight class they were in, Crawford has a much higher finishing rate in his career.
Knockout statsCanelo AlvarezTerence CrawfordPro wins6341Wins by knockout3931Percentage of wins by knockout61.9%75.6%
In his last outing, Crawford went the full 12 rounds for the first time since 2016 when he defeated Israil Madrimov a year ago.