Saul Canelo Alvarez believes his loss to Terence Crawford had less to do with physical readiness than his state of mind on fight night last September.
The former undisputed super middleweight champion completed a strong training camp before facing Crawford, but he admitted he was not mentally locked in once the opening bell rang. Canelo believes that lapse caused him to abandon the fundamentals that had carried him through the biggest victories of his career, contributing to one of the few defeats on his record.
“You cannot control the results,” Alvarez said. “Even when you do everything good, things don’t go your way. I learned that. Sometimes we forget the bases, and I forgot the bases in that fight,” said Canelo to CBS Mornings about his loss to Crawford. “Mentally, I was not there. I did everything correct in the training camp, but mentally I was not there. I learned that. If I’m going to still fighting, I need to be there mentally and physically.”
Alvarez’s explanation puts the spotlight on his own performance rather than Crawford’s. He did not point to injuries, problems in training camp or controversial judging. Instead, he argued that his mindset kept him from performing at the standard he expected of himself.
Not everyone will accept that explanation. Crawford spent months crafting a game plan, executed it with discipline and repeatedly beat Alvarez to the punch. His speed, timing and ring IQ played a major role in one of the biggest victories of his career. Because of that, some fans will view Alvarez’s comments as an honest assessment of his own shortcomings, while others will see them as an attempt to soften the impact of a clear defeat.
One thing is certain: Canelo does not believe the fight reflected his best version. Combined with his recent comments about wanting a lucrative rematch, it is clear he still believes he can produce a different result if the two ever meet again.
Canelo still has to get past WBC super middleweight champion Christian Mbilli on October 31 for a Crawford rematch to remain a realistic possibility. Even if he defeats Mbilli, it’s far from certain Turki Alalshikh will want to finance a second fight after last September’s disappointing first meeting. Crawford spent much of the night boxing cautiously, tying Canelo up whenever he closed the distance, while Alvarez faded after the sixth round. Given the lukewarm reaction to the bout, Turki may decide his money is better spent on fresher matchups rather than revisiting a fight that failed to meet expectations.
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Last Updated on 2026/08/05 at 11:57 PM
