A clash between pound-for-pound top stars Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez has been brewing for well over 18 months already.

Rumblings of the super fight first switched into second gear after Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) crushed Errol Spence Jr. to become the undisputed welterweight champion in July 2023. Crawford made his 154-pound debut in August 2024 and beat Israil Madrimov for the WBA belt, becoming a titleholder in a fourth weight class.

The four-division champion Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs), meanwhile, has dominated the likes of Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia, and Edgar Berlanga over his last three fights post-Crawford-Spence during his reign as the super middleweight king and has been non-committal to fighting Crawford.

The Mexican star has alluded that if the price was right, he just might entertain a fight against Crawford, but has stressed that beating the smaller opponent wouldn’t add any merit to his legacy.

If you ask Hall of Fame fighter turned commentator Timothy Bradley Jr. – “the self-proclaimed biggest hater in boxing” – “Desert Storm” considers a Crawford clash against Alvarez to be an imminent cakewalk in favor of the Nebraskan.

“Something told me to study Canelo and study Crawford,” said Bradley. “Crawford is about to beat the shit out of Canelo Alvarez. I’m letting y’all know right now. He’s about to beat the brakes off of Canelo Alvarez. Yes, he is.”

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, has made it his personal passion project to get Crawford, a Riyadh Season ambassador, a legacy-defining fight against Alvarez.

In December, Alvarez, 37, said he was open to face Crawford, 34, and do business with Alalshikh.

“Now, I’m working on other things," Alvarez said on December 5. "Now, I’m enjoying my family. I’m not talking about boxing yet. So maybe in January we’re going to start doing that … I never say no to business. So if it’s business for me, I’m open to talk, no matter what.”

Crawford is the Ring’s No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Alvarez is No. 7.