Crawford defeated Alvarez by a unanimous decision to win the undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13 in Las Vegas, after which Alvarez called for an immediate rematch.

Instead, Crawford, certain that his victory over the Mexican superstar lifted him to all-time-great status, retired. Alvarez evidently isn't convinced.

“I always give him his credit,” Alvarez told The Ring’s Rick Reeno on the Mr. Verzace Podcast. “But we need to run it back. I think for him to get all the credit, he needs to give me the rematch.” Alvarez has said that an injury to his left elbow – for which he had successful surgery on October 23 – played a role in his setback. Had he been healthy, he believes, the outcome might've been different.

He wants a chance to prove what he can do at 100%. “After the fight, I say we need to run it back,” Alvarez said, "because I don’t feel the way I really want, and I need to make this fight happen again, and that it’s going to be different.” Of course, a rematch would be lucrative for both men. Still, Crawford reiterated in a recent interview on The Pivot Podcast that he doesn’t plan to return to the sport. Alvarez says he takes Crawford at his word – “He decided to retire and we need to accept that and move forward,” he said – but, as everyone knows, "Bud" wouldn't be the first to come out of retirement.