Terence “Bud” Crawford is a +140 underdog at Bet MGM to defeat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sep. 13, but you would struggle to realize it after hearing the opinions of those involved in the sport.
Crawford seems to be favored by many, at least within the boxing fraternity, to defy logic and dethrone Alvarez of his undisputed super middleweight titles and make history as the first-ever three-weight male undisputed champion of the four-belt era at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
“I’m like [50-50]. I’ll flip-flop if I go too early. But when I watched the face-off and I [saw] Bud step to him and I [saw] Canelo’s face, I leaned towards Bud now,” featherweight contender Michael Conlan told Uncrowned and DAZN’s “Ariel x Ade” show last week. “At the start, I leaned toward Canelo because he’s so big, and [usually] the better big man beats the better smaller man.
“But Bud is just so game and one of the best fighters, pound-for-pound, of our generation, and I like him as a person. He’s a great guy. I think Bud just has the edge now. Canelo is probably starting to kind of go on the slide. Not much — he’s still an unbelievable fighter, one of the best of this generation as well. It’s an interesting fight, but something about that face-off made me go, Bud’s got this.'”
Conlan’s fellow Irishman, the Dana White-backed prospect Callum Walsh, took over from Conlan as the Irish headlining act for St. Patrick’s Day weekend in New York. Now with Conlan and Katie Taylor heading toward the finish line in their storied careers, Walsh will look to take the next step in becoming the new face of Irish boxing with a win over Fernando Vargas Jr. in the Alvarez vs. Crawford co-feature.
“Callum is a fantastic fighter. [He’s] a great man. He can do big things in boxing,” Conlan said of Walsh. “He’s got the backing of Zuffa Boxing [Dana White]. They’ve been behind him with Tom Loeffler [360 Promotions] from the start, which has been fantastic. He’s probably more well-known in UFC audiences than boxing audiences because he’s been fighting on [UFC] Fight Pass a lot. But I think he’s the real deal. I think he knocks out Vargas. I don’t think Vargas is the best of the brothers, I think Emiliano [is]. I rate that kid so highly, he’s a fantastic fighter. I would say Fernando is second and Amado last.”
While Walsh is touted to be the future, Conlan realizes that his days as the present of Irish boxing are coming to a close. The former WBA title challenger confirmed to Uncrowned that while his Sep. 5 date with Jack Bateson will not be his last appearance in a boxing ring, it is part of his final run in the sport.
“[My next fight is] definitely not [my] final fight,” Conlan insisted to Uncrowned. “[But] it’s the last roll of the dice. I’ll roll ’em and see how far they go. People say, ‘This is the best training camp I’ve had,’ and all this. I’m not gonna say it’s the best training camp I’ve [ever] had, but it’s the best I’ve been inside and outside the ring mentally and physically, and I’m in a great position.”
“I have no weight on my shoulders, no kind of worries. What will be will be. I’m at peace with that, so there’s no pressure. I can just go in and enjoy myself, and that’s what I plan to do for the rest of this career. I [still] want to get a world title. I’m aiming towards that. I think I can still do it. I believe I can still do it.”
Bateson, whose lone career defeat came to Shabaz Masoud in a November 2022 British title final eliminator, is a long way away from the world level at 126 pounds, but with Conlan having only an eight-round bout in the bank since brutal back-to-back stoppage defeats in 2023, it provides a measuring stick to ascertain what level Conlan is — and can still compete at for the remainder of his career.
“They put a few opponents to me. I said, ‘Get them a figure [financial offer], and I’ll fight anybody.’ So, it doesn’t really matter. Jack’s a good fighter. Former Team GB athlete, European medalist, and stuff in the amateurs, and has done OK as a pro. This is his big opportunity, this is his world title fight. Most people who fight me always kind of have that goal: ‘If I beat him, I’m in a big fight.’… I’m looking forward to it because I’ll have the best Jack Bateson in front of me on fight night, which means I’ve got to be the best myself.”
Conlan was part of a thriving mix at featherweight in the past few years, which included Leigh Wood, Josh Warrington, Mauricio Lara and Luis Alberto Lopez. In what is becoming rarer by the day in boxing, at 126 pounds, you had a group of fighters who fought each other back-to-back with mixed fights and results between them.
Conlan fell short to Leigh Wood in the final round in their 2022 thriller after the Nottingham champion scored a sensational come-from-behind KO. The contest easily dominated among Fight of the Year picks for that year, but a rematch has yet to be seriously discussed. Another fight that would appeal to boxing fans is a matchup between Warrington and Conlan, both of whom have loyal followings and are approaching the back end of their boxing careers.
“Definitely. If it makes sense, we can do it,” Conlan said of a Leigh Wood rematch. “[But] my aim is to get back to world titles, so the rematch is second to that. If I can get a world title before that, I’d take that. I wanted the rematch immediately [after the first fight], but his coach, Ben Davison, didn’t allow it because he took a little bit of stick in the press conferences. It’s something that I’d definitely run back. Something I would love to do again.
“[Wood] or Josh Warrington. We’d like to fight Josh, too. I have respect for both men, both good fighters. I’ve got to come through Bateson first. Once I do that, I can be in a position to say what I want. Until then, I’ll sit back, and I’ll watch and see what happens.”
For now, however, all eyes are on Sep. 5 for Conlan as he realizes that defeat against Bateson would shut down the possibility of any major fights with the likes of Wood and Warrington — and maybe his career as well.