Fighter who pushed Canelo Alvarez all the way makes prediction for major Terence Crawford fight

Erislandy Lara doesn’t have fond memories of his battle with Canelo Alvarez. 

The Cuban star, one of the most skilful fighters of his era, challenged Canelo’s greatness in 2014, and many believe he should’ve had his hand raised at the end of their tense 12 rounds. 

Canelo pressured throughout, but Lara’s frequent attacks were getting through, and after the bout was over, it appeared that it could go either way. 

The Mexican superstar got the nod via split decision, but Lara’s performance earned him the plaudits of all boxing fans. 

Next month, Canelo is set to face another fighter with many qualities as he welcomes Terence Crawford to super-middleweight in one of the year’s biggest fights. 

Canelo, largely due to his size, begins the fight a small favourite, but there are many within the boxing communi8ty who think Crawford can cause a small upset. 

Lara, who last fought in 2024 when defeating Danny Garcia, has provided his verdict on what could go down on September 13. 

“I see it as an interesting 50-50 fight. I feel that Canelo is very strong right now, and I want to see how Crawford handles the power, especially in the early rounds, and what’s going to happen,” said Lara when speaking to FightHype. 

“I remember fighting Canelo 14 years (11 years) ago. I remember, I used my legs real good. As long as Crawford uses his legs and doesn’t let Canelo hit him in the arms and beat him up on the arms, he has a very good chance of winning.”