Despite having the odds in his favor, having more experience inside the squared circle, and even competing in his own weight class, Canelo Alvarez could not defend his belts against Terence Crawford. ‘Bud’ dominated the Mexican star and earned a unanimous decision win, winning the super middleweight belts. However, Crawford would later hand those titles back to Alvarez.

Now, fans may be confused about Terence Crawford handing the belts to Canelo Alvarez after he was the one who emerged victorious in the fight. Well, this isn’t something that hasn’t happened before, so let’s take a look at the reason behind it.

Terence Crawford gave Canelo Alvarez his belts back for this reason

In boxing, it is actually customary for new champions to let the ex-champion hold the title for a while. Terence Crawford crashed Canelo Alvarez’s post-fight press conference, showed his respect to his rival, and handed him the belts because he’s going to get new ones soon. Other than that, the gesture of handing the titles back also signifies another thing.

Terence Crawford gave the belts back as a sign of respect for Canelo Alvarez, and it showcases sportsmanship. It’s a symbolic act to honor the former champion, who reigned supreme as the top boxer for a fairly long time. This is not an indication that Crawford is vacating the belt or anything of that sort, but just a gesture of one athlete to another.

Fans not only got to see these two titans of boxing fight in a generational clash, but also saw them embracing each other after the fight, showcasing that the bad blood is only inside the ring and not outside of it. Meanwhile, Terence Crawford revealed that he had been working on his game plan, but his coach’s advice was what worked in his favor. Here’s what he had to say.

Crawford’s coach advised him to go southpaw

Terence Crawford is known for his exceptional switch-hitting ability, which allows him to make effective use of both the southpaw and the orthodox stances. He revealed during the post-fight presser that he wanted to make use of his orthodox stance against Canelo Alvarez. This wasn’t what his coach had in mind, apparently, as he suggested the 37-year-old go southpaw, and that caused a lot of trouble for the former champion.

“I’ve always sparred bigger guys, I’d bully the smaller guys. I used to work on my defence. Fighting at a bigger weight, not having to lose so much, it helped me. I wanted to come out orthodox, but my coaches said southpaw will kill him. That’s what we did tonight,” Terence Crawford told the media. “We knew what he was trying to do: the wide hooks. He knew I was faster, but he then respected my power.”

Well, a win over Canelo Alvarez is now on his resume, but what’s next for Terence Crawford? There might be a few interesting fights out there, but then again, there is also speculation about his retirement, so we’ll have to wait and see how things pan out in the future. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.