The Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford undercard just added three massive fights.
While the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight will serve as the main attraction on September 13th in Las Vegas. Before the main event, will be several prominent pairings on the undercard, including a few of the sport’s rising stars.
Alvarez and Crawford will fight in one of the biggest matchups in recent boxing history, as Alvarez defends his super middleweight titles. Crawford, after going unbeaten in numerous lower weight classes, will move up to super middleweight to challenge for Alvarez’s belts.
This week, one of the fight’s promoters announced three marquee matchups added to Canelo-Crawford.
Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty ImagesCallum Walsh, Fernando Vargas Jr. boost Canelo-Crawford card
Turki Alalshikh took to X on Monday to announce that, among other fights, undefeated phenom Callum Walsh will fight at Canelo-Crawford against Fernando Vargas Jr. It’s a massive step up in spotlight for Walsh after fighting for the majority of his career on UFC Fight Pass.
Walsh most recently defeated Elias Espadas to retain the WBC continental super welterweight title in June. He’s 14-0 in his young career with three stoppage victories.
Vargas presents arguably the toughest test of Walsh’s career with a 17-0 professional record. He most recently knocked out Gonzalo Gaston Coria in May.
In addition to Walsh vs. Vargas, Alalshikh announced that highly-touted prospect Christian Mbilli will defend his WBC interim belt against fellow undefeated contender Lester Martinez. The winner will likely earn a shot at the lineal WBC super middleweight championship.
The 30-year-old Mbilli won the WBC interim title by knocking out Maciej Sulecki in June. 24 of Mbilli’s 29 career victories came by knockout.
Lightweight prospect Mohammed Alakel (4-0) will compete on his sixth high-profile card against eight-fight veteran John Ornelas (5-2-1). The 21-year-old Alakel will fight on the Moses Itauma vs. Dillian Whyte undercard this Saturday in Riyadh.
Terence Crawford making a ‘mistake’ according to world-class trainer
Ahead of Canelo-Crawford, one famed boxing trainer believes Crawford made a significant ‘mistake’ in the lead-up to his fight with Alvarez. Abel Sanchez believes Crawford’s massive weight gains to fight Alvarez could come back to haunt him after fighting at 140 pounds for the majority of his career.
Sanchez asserted that Crawford will be slower with less endurance against Alvarez, which could spell doom for the undefeated juggernaut. John Ryder believes Alvarez can defeat Crawford if he cuts off Crawford’s movement in the ring.
If Crawford’s upcoming fight against Alvarez doesn’t go according to his plans, it could be the last time he makes the massive weight class gamble. A win could potentially kick off a new rivalry between two of boxing’s biggest superstars.