Crawford, who currently competes at super-welterweight, will move up two weight classes for this challenge. He'll need to gain 14 pounds to meet Alvarez at the agreed weight. 'Bud' aims to become the first fighter to defeat Canelo in the super-middleweight division.
Alvarez holds three of the four major belts at super-middleweight. He initially dismissed the idea of fighting Crawford when it was first mentioned about 18 months ago. Canelo felt the match-up didn't make sense due to Crawford being naturally smaller and competing two divisions below.
The bout has become a reality thanks to the efforts of Turki Alalshikh, who's affiliated with Saudi Arabia. Alalshikh played a key role in facilitating the agreement between the two champions.
Multi-weight great Roy Jones Jr. shared his thoughts on the upcoming clash. In an interview with YouTube, Jones said:
"The weight won't be the factor. The factor will be how Canelo chooses to make the fight. If Canelo comes out and does what Canelo should do, he wins the fight. If he comes out and does what he shouldn't do, Crawford wins the fight."
Jones added:
"If Crawford is allowed to control the centre of the ring, he'll win."
Canelo has fought over 60 times in his professional career, suffering only two losses. A defeat to Crawford would mark his third career loss.
Before the September showdown, Canelo is getting ready to announce his opponent for May. Crawford, on the other hand, will likely sit on the sidelines until the big fight in September.
This match-up promises to be one of the most significant in recent boxing history, pitting two of the sport's best pound-for-pound fighters against each other in an intriguing weight class battle.