Ever since the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight was announced, the 37-year-old has suffered a few setbacks outside the ring. Back in March, the WBO confirmed that its then-interim junior middleweight champion—Crawford, who also holds the WBA title—would relinquish his interim WBO belt. Since his fight with Canelo on September 13 would be at super middleweight, it would make sense that he would have to vacate the interim title.

As a result, Xander Zayas was elevated to the No. 1 contender spot. However, when Sebastian Fundora, the reigning WBO champion, refused to defend his title against Zayas, the opportunity shifted back to the Puerto Rican prospect. Zayas then cemented his position by defeating Jorge Garcia Perez last month and winning the WBO title. Still, Crawford’s loss of the interim title may only be the beginning. During the MVP Fight Night in Orlando, it was revealed that he is on the verge of losing his current and only world title.

“Per [WBA President Gilberto J Mendoza], when Crawford steps into the ring vs. Canelo, he will lose recognition as WBA 154 champion,” veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael revealed on X. Notably, Terence Crawford hasn’t fought in the super welterweight division since beating Israil Madrimov last year. Regardless, as the Omaha native plans to win the undisputed title in a fifth weight class, his WBA belt will find a new champion. 

“Baraou, who won the interim title from Tellez, will be elevated, and his mandatory will be ordered vs. Jermell Charlo,” Rafael added. Abass Baraou dropped the undefeated Yoenis Tellez in the 12th round of the interim title fight in Orlando en route to a unanimous decision win. After being elevated to the full champion, he will likely have 120 days to negotiate with Jermell Charlo, who hasn’t fought since losing to Canelo in September 2023.

Nonetheless, Canelo and Crawford are set to fight for a staggering combined purse of $200 million. Canelo Alvarez will reportedly take $150 million, leaving Crawford with $50 million. While Terence Crawford might not care about losing the title, losing the Canelo fight would mean it was all for nothing. Hence, the question is, can Crawford beat Canelo?

Former world champion opponent reveals why Terence Crawford beats Canelo Alvarez

Former welterweight champion Jeff Horn, who faced Crawford in 2018 and suffered a 9th-round TKO loss, believes Crawford has what it takes to hand Canelo Alvarez a knockout loss when the two meet next month. “The reason why Crawford is so good and his punches feel so strong is because he makes you walk onto them,” Horn told Fight Hub TV.

“He’s a smart guy… he was using my forward momentum and putting his punches into it, which made his punches hurt 10 times more. He’s like a matador—he waved the flag, I charged at it, and he made me run into a couple of his good punches,” Horn added. He pointed out that Canelo is smaller for a super middleweight fighter, which will help Crawford. 

“Crawford has the accuracy and the power; if he lands a clean shot on Canelo, he can knock him out.”

If Horn is correct, Canelo Alvarez might be in some trouble. If Crawford wins the fight, he might not mind his WBA strap being taken away. Do you think Crawford would return to super welterweight to get his titles back?