Canelo v Crawford – the defining battle for legacy

Las Vegas is built on noise.

The beeps and bells of the slot machines echo down the Strip – a blur of glittering lights, and performers who never break character.

A seismic fight week here usually feels the same – spotlight, swagger, and showmanship.

But Terence Crawford doesn’t play to the crowd.

At the Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night, the American attempts something historic against Mexico’s Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – becoming the first male fighter to be undisputed champion in three weight divisions.

Alvarez has been among the sport’s biggest draws for over a decade, a four-weight champion who sells out arenas. Crawford – with 41 fights, 41 wins and 31 knockouts – is the unbeaten purist.

Yet his demeanour and words show why he is an outlier in a sport that thrives on theatre.

“I never set my sights out to be the face of boxing. It was never my goal,” the 37-year-old says.

“I just want to win. [Canelo] can be the face of boxing. Just give me everything in the background that comes with it.”

Crawford spoke to BBC Sport during a media event at the bustling Fontainebleau hotel.

In the same building, rapping chart-topper Pitbull headlines his residency, belting out “Don’t Stop the Party”.

Crawford, though, looks almost offended when asked how he would celebrate if he wins. “I don’t like to party,” he says.

Away from the cameras he is loose and cheerful, but once the red light blinks, the mood changes. His voice flattens, his words become stripped back. Some might read it as coldness, but it is anything but nerves.

When BBC Sport begins a question, “If you win on Saturday you’ll make history…” Crawford interrupts firmly: “When I win on Saturday, I’ll make history.”

The certainty makes it clear – nothing outside the ring matters.

“This fight is about cementing my place in history,” he adds.

The city has a tangible buzz, a real big-fight weak feel. But this is not a fight born out of fan demand.

Crawford began at lightweight; Alvarez has climbed as high as light-heavyweight. On paper, it didn’t make sense.

Barely a year ago, Alvarez laughed off the idea of facing Crawford, saying he was too small, too risky and there was nothing to gain.

So what changed? The real driver is money, and the power brokers behind it.

This event marks the first marquee collaboration between Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh and UFC chief Dana White’s boxing venture.

Alalshikh wanted Alvarez and Crawford to face each other, and – as he does – he got what he wanted. The cheque-book did the convincing.

Alvarez will earn a reported purse of $150m (£111m). It’s the Hollywood treatment he’s come to expect, as he shows off his wealth at every turn – from his absurdly expensive watch collection to his fleet of luxury cars.

Crawford, long frustrated by smaller purses, will take home at least $10m (£7.4m), with the total pot expected to top $200m. Reported purses are often inflated, but give a taste of the fortunes involved.

Although Alvarez-Crawford has not been years in the making, special moments are built on special fighters.

In an era of YouTube celebrities and exhibitions, this is a chance to show that boxing can still produce legitimate, high-stakes drama.

Logical fights have been parked, however.

Alvarez, 35, has sidestepped the all-Mexican contest with David Benavidez, a fight fans were clamouring for. Crawford has put on hold a natural meeting with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

Yet for all the contrivance, this match-up comes draped in the language of legacy.

Undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo is fighting to protect a CV built on wins over Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, and Sergey Kovalev.

But Alvarez’s recent struggles – a loss to Dmitry Bivol and a less-than-convincing win over William Scull – have stirred doubts.

The Guadalajara fighter says he is not bothered about the naysayers.

A defeat by the smaller man, though, could shift how his career is remembered. It could even hasten the end.

“We don’t know if it’s going to be the last big fights. I am enjoying this one because we don’t know what lies ahead,” Alvarez said.

Most fighters and pundits believe Crawford is so good he can bypass the conventional wisdom that weight divisions exist for a reason.

“It’s a fantastic fight but I just can’t see Canelo beating him,” Briton Amir Khan – the only fighter to face both – told BBC Sport.

“Crawford is untouchable and I see him winning by skill, movement and holding his weight well.”

A win would have Crawford rubbing elbows with heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk atop the pound-for-pound list.

He’d also emulate his close friend Claressa Shields, and become only the second boxer to become undisputed in three weight divisions in the four-belt era.

With Netflix broadcasting the bout globally, a win could make Crawford the face of boxing, even if he remains indifferent to the idea, with his focus on other matters.

“It’s going to put me in the top class where we’re talking about the greatest fighters of all time,” he says.

Still, Crawford is 37 – the older man in this equation. If he loses, the reasoning will be ‘he dared to be great and size matters’.

But this is not a risk-free proposition – the aura of invincibility which comes with an unbeaten record will fade.

Alvarez-Crawford may have seemed unlikely before this year, but with legacies and so much else on the line, it is a legitimate super-fight that has the boxing world watching.