Canelo Alvarez is just weeks away from his October 31 showdown against the unbeaten Christian Mbilli, but his mind is clearly lingering on the past. The boxer recently admitted he is obsessed with avenging his last defeat against Terence Crawford.
The catch? Crawford is already retired, but Canelo still hopes to pull the former three-time undisputed champion back into the ring.
Canelo Alvarez Demands Terence Crawford Rematch After Watching Loss Five Times
On Sept. 13, 2025, boxing history was rewritten at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In a massive superfight streamed globally on Netflix, the undisputed super middleweight champion put all his 168-pound titles on the line against the undefeated Terence “Bud” Crawford. The historic title fight broke live gate records with over 70,000 fans in attendance.
Canelo found momentum attacking the body early on, but Crawford controlled the later rounds from the pocket. After 12 hard-fought rounds, Crawford took Canelo’s undisputed championship belts by unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.
Now, the memory of that loss haunts Alvarez as he prepares to return to the ring. Speaking to Mike Coppinger of The Ring at Oleksandr Usyk’s gym in Spain, Canelo revealed he has already rewatched the tape of the defeat five times. He remains confident about a second chance, stating that he has already pinpointed his exact mistakes.
“I know what happened and I know my mistakes,” Canelo noted, calling the initial result incredibly close and adding, “I always do good in the rematches, so I hope that fight happens again.”
.@Canelo tells me he wants the rematch with Terence Crawford more than anything; that he knows what his mistakes were after watching it back 5 times. Catch the full @ringmagazine interview with Alvarez from Usyk’s gym in Spain: https://t.co/feGA3CX0xN
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) October 14, 2026
Álvarez has a proven track record when it comes to rematches. Following a controversial split draw against Gennady Golovkin in 2017, Canelo adjusted his strategy and won their 2018 rematch by majority decision.
However, “Bud” is no longer active. In Dec. 2025, just three months after defeating Canelo, he retired and vacated his super middleweight title belts. If Turki Alalshikh offers a record-breaking payday, Crawford might change his mind and return for one final legacy fight against Alvarez.
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Before that can happen, the 36-year-old must take the 168-pound WBC crown from Mbilli in Riyadh. Canelo holds a 63-3-2 record with 39 knockouts. Alalshikh has plenty of time to pitch the rematch to Crawford, because Alvarez stated he has approximately three or four fights left before he retires.
