Who is in line to face Canelo-Crawford winner?

Boxing moves quickly - as soon as a winner of tonight’s mega-bout is announced, questions of what next will be asked. Who could Canelo Alvarez - or Terrence Crawford - be fighting next?

CRAWFORD-CANELO (AP)

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford finally meet this evening in one of boxing’s biggest fights in recent years.

Two-time undisputed - and still reigning - super middleweight champion Canelo is viewed as the favourite, but Crawford’s own pedigree, having held all four belts at super lightweight and welterweight, sees him enter the ring as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of the past decade.

Whilst fight fans are excited to see what will happen in Las Vegas, the pace of the modern world means people are already thinking about what is next for the winner of this mega-bout.

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Plenty of suitors for Canelo

ÁLVAREZ (AP)

Canelo is known as the face of boxing for a reason. A clearly talented fighter, the Mexican has maximised his earning potential when it comes to pay-per-views. As such, boxers across the world are keen to fight him, meaning that win or lose, he will have plenty of offers.

Of course, his value will be at its highest if he is victorious on Saturday. There are numerous suitors already waiting in the ring - two of which are fighting on the undercard of Canelo’s main event.

Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) is defending his interim World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight title against Lester Martinez (19-0, 14 KOs), with the victor in line to challenge Canelo for the full belt.

Mbilli has been floated as a potential opponent by Canelo himself, his name mentioned earlier in 2025.

In a similar vein, interim WBA champion Armando Resendiz, who shocked former Canelo opponent Caleb Plant earlier this year, will feel he deserves a shot at the undisputed champion based on his stand-in belt.

If Turki Alalshikh gets his way, Canelo’s next opponent would be Hamzah Sheeraz. The Brit only made his debut at super middleweight back at the start of July, stopping another ex-Canelo foe in the form of Edgar Berlanga.

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Throughout the build-up to that fight there was constant talk of the winner getting a chance to face Alvarez for all the marbles, but whether Sheeraz - who is yet to win a world title - will be chucked into action against Canelo remains to be seen.

Another British name that has previously been linked to Canelo is Chris Eubank Jr, who has competed at 168lbs in the past but has most recently fought at middleweight. Both fighters’ hopes of fighting Canelo will be boosted by his comments back in spring, when the Mexican expressed his desire to fight in front of a UK crowd before he retires.

Of course, Canelo has made many comments about potential opponents and venues over the years. David Benavidez is a fighter many have wanted to see exchange punches with the Mexican, with accusations that Canelo ‘ducked’ the American when he was still competing at super middleweight.

Now the WBC champion at light heavyweight, Canelo has recently suggested that he would be open to meeting Benavidez. Canelo’s last attempt at a move up to 175lbs ended in defeat to Dmitry Bivol back in 2022.

Asked about fighting Benavidez in the future during the build-up to this weekend’s fight, Canelo responded: “Look, I never say no to anything.

“We’ll see later. But I’m focused a hundred percent on this fight.”

It should also be considered that Canelo is no stranger to a rematch, having shared a trilogy of bouts with Gennady Golovkin. If the result of the bout is a controversial or even tight decision, it is not out of the realm of possibility to see it run back for a second time.

Many options available for Terence Crawford

Title challenger Terence Crawford (Getty Images for Netflix)

Like Canelo, Crawford would be quickly ordered to face the contenders for his individual titles if he picked up undisputed status. The aforementioned Mbilli and Resendiz would likely be first in line, but the current order of mandatory challengers at 168lbs is unclear.

Whilst focusing on his own upcoming bout with Conor Benn, Eubank Jr has stated he would be interested in fighting the winner of Canelo-Crawford. That would create an interesting dynamic, considering that Eubank Jr’s former trainer - Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre - is currently Crawford’s chief cornerman.

The commercial viability of the contenders may leave a lot to be desired for Crawford, who is clearly at a stage of his career where he will be heavily considering the financial benefits of a bout.

If he instead prioritises creating further history, as evidenced by his stated desire to become the first three-division undisputed champion, perhaps we could see Bud drop down in weight to compete at middleweight.

At the moment there is a logjam at 160lbs, with unified champion Janibek Alimkhanuly chasing further belts with fights against Erislandy Lara and Carlos Adames.

However, neither man will agree to a fight, leaving Alimkhanuly kicking his heels. The Kazakh is clearly keen on boxing the best available opponent, with Crawford’s credentials certainly meeting that criteria. Crawford could make his debut at 160lbs in a world title fight, just as he has done before at welterweight and super lightweight.

If he goes down that route and proves victorious, he would become a six-division champion - a feat achieved by only Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, who conquered eight weight classes.

There is also the possibility that Crawford calls it a day if he is victorious over Canelo. Bud’s activity levels have dropped in recent years, and in a few weeks’ time, he will be 38. Bowing out after dethroning the reigning undisputed champion after jumping up two weight classes would be a remarkable end to an already storied career.

Crawford may feel that after beating Canelo and making history by becoming the first man to conquer three separate weight divisions, there is little else he can achieve in the sweet science.

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