LAS VEGAS — Canelo Alvarez came out to a resounding chorus of cheers Tuesday night during his grand arrival ceremony at Fontainebleau.

The undisputed super middleweight king has been down these red carpets for over a dozen years now against the likes of Floyd Mayweather and Gennadiy Golovkin three times, but this weekend’s rodeo certainly feels different.

Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) is getting ready to defend his undisputed super middleweight title against Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium. For the first time since his climactic and bitter rivalry with Triple G first kicked off in 2017, many of the sport’s most respected voices are picking Alvarez to lose to the undersized Crawford.

“This is one of the biggest [fights of my career] for sure,” Alvarez told his legion of supporters while standing on stage.

“If you mean what is around the fight, yeah, it's the biggest. Riyadh Season, Netflix, everybody around this fight, you can see how big this fight is. You have two of the best pound-for-pound fighters fighting each other. On Saturday, September 13, we are going to see who is the best … I want to appreciate and thank Turki Alalshikh for bringing this fight to America, and making this the biggest fight in boxing history for you guys.”

Alvarez’s career-long confidant and coach Eddy Reynoso took it a step further by dialing up the fight week promotional banter meter and predicted a stoppage win for his charge.

“He still has it, and on Saturday we are going to show it by knockout,” said Reynoso. “This is going to be the best Canelo we have seen in his 20-year career. We're going to show it.”

Alvarez is approaching the Crawford clash with a massive chip on his shoulder.

At 35, his best days are seemingly behind him. Alvarez has not scored a stoppage win since November 2021, when he knocked out Caleb Plant. The knockoutless streak spans seven fights, and a loss to Dmitry Bivol is sandwiched in between.

When Alvarez was asked by reporters if he could knock out Crawford, he quipped, "why not?” while adding Crawford will realize he is in over his head once the opening bell rings.

"I don't know [how the weight gain will affect his speed and performance]," said Alvarez. "We need to wait till September 13. He looked good [in the pictures he posted]. That's when you realize it's going to be a good fight ... he's one of my best challenges. It's a big fight. It means a lot to me."

While Alvarez was cheered, the uber-confident Crawford was jeered by Alvarez’s Mexican contingency.

“This ain’t nothing different than when I went to Scotland and fought Ricky Burns,” said Crawford. “I'm cool with it. They are all going to be quiet come Saturday … I love each and every one of y'all. But on Saturday, you are going to be crying. I hope you all put a lot of money on the fight too.”