One of the reasons Mexican boxing fans are so fond of Canelo Alvarez is his deep connection to his country’s history. Since the beginning of his storied career, ‘Cinnamon’ has traditionally fought on or around Mexican Independence Day, September 14th. However, this year things might be different.

Initially, many speculated that the change was due to the Riyadh Season Noche UFC (UFC 306), targeted for the same day at the impressive Las Vegas Sphere. The UFC recently announced Riyadh Season as the title partner for this groundbreaking combat sports event, which aims to celebrate the contributions of Mexican fighters. Nevertheless, Mike Coppinger of ESPN has now revealed the true reason why Canelo may skip the date this year.

Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez is happening?

While appearing in an interview on ESPN+, Coppinger said, “Canelo Alvarez might not fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend. Could fight later in the year in Los Angeles in a Riyadh Season event as a tune-up for a Terence Crawford fight”. It’s worth mentioning that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has been pushing for the match-up for quite a bit, holding a clash between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez as the ultimate bout.

But now the question is, who will Canelo fight as his tune-up for Crawford? A good bet could be his WBA mandatory challenger Edgar Berlanga, who is clearly open to the clash. However, Canelo might want his tune-up to be somewhat of a practice for Crawford, who is coming up from 154 pounds to 168 pounds. So, in that regard, Canelo’s IBF mandatory William Scull will be a better fit if Canelo accepts the challenge to face Crawford in 2025.

In the meantime, here’s what a former champion turned boxing analyst had to say about Canelo fighting Crawford!

Paulie Malignaggi feels it would look bad for Canelo

While fans might be excited about Canelo fighting Crawford, Paulie Malignaggi doesn’t want to see the fight at all. While appearing in an interview with ProBoxTV in January, Malignaggi said, “I think pound-for-pound [Crawford] is better, he’s overall more skilled, but I think Canelo is too big. He’s too big.”

He further explained that “casual idiots” would love the fight and make it bigger than it has to be, but he would like to see Crawford against other more interesting opponents. Later in the interview, Malignaggi added, “Canelo has both Morrell and Benavidez in his weight class. If he goes and fights Crawford, it will look bad.”

Yet Canelo has demanded $200 million to potentially fight David Benavidez, so that fight is unlikely to happen anytime soon. And David Morrell doesn’t have the kind of experience that will convince Canelo to get into the ring with him.

If Mike Coppinger is right, Terence Crawford has the biggest fight of his career ahead of him, but Canelo Alvarez hasn’t confirmed the update quite yet. So, only time will tell if Canelo will really face Crawford. Who do you think Canelo should fight as a tune-up for Crawford?