Eddie Hearn hints at Canelo retirement after Terence Crawford super-fight

Eddie Hearn has suggested that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez may retire following his forthcoming fight against Terence Crawford.

The promoter said in a podcast interview this week that he thinks age is beginning to catch up with the Mexican fighter, citing his recent victory in Riyadh against William Scull.

Hearn said Canelo’s timing has slipped and that he struggled to cut the ring off when facing Scull, whom he ultimately outpointed to regain undisputed status at super-middleweight.

Hearn said: “Canelo is amazing, not just for his ability and for what he’s accomplished, but the fact that he still has the desire for those training camps and those fights. But I just feel like that desire might be fading a little bit, not because of his love but because of his age.”

“Don’t get me wrong, the Crawford fight will definitely get him up for it, but I was watching the [Scull] fight, thinking that I wouldn’t be surprised if he retired and actually didn’t fight Crawford.

“I don’t think he’ll want to lose to Crawford, who’s a much smaller guy, just because [Canelo] is at the end of the road. But the fights are so big, and the money has gotten so big, that he’s going to have to take it.

“Maybe it was just fighting in Saudi or the negative opponent, but I was sitting next to ‘Bud’ [Crawford] for the whole fight, and I was thinking: ‘You’ll beat him.’ Don’t get me wrong, this is a tough fight for both; it’s a great fight, but the movement of Terence Crawford, the ring IQ... and he looks the younger, fresher fighter, even though they’re both 36 and 38.”

Alvarez is in fact 34, while Crawford is 37, though the Mexican will be 35 by the time he boxes the American in September.

Hearn’s remarks come as the match-up has tipped into disarray in recent days, with the date of the bout being moved from 12 to 13 September, causing the location to have to be changed. At the time of writing, five locations across three US cities are being considered for the bout, with a kick-off press conference to take place in a few weeks in Riyadh.

When the fight was first announced some weeks ago, it was determined that the venue was to be Allegiant Stadium, just outside downtown Las Vegas. However, the shift in date has led to a clash with other events to be held there, necessitating a move to an as-yet-unknown site.

Rumours also circulated this week that UFC chief Dana White has been cut out from promoting the card, which would have been a flagship event for TKO Boxing – a new entity to be run by White and Saudi adviser Turki Alalshikh. It is now understood that Sela, which promotes sporting events in Saudi Arabia, will be the fight’s promoters.

There is also uncertainty as to which broadcaster will be carrying the super-fight, with Alalshikh posting on X in recent days that the broadcaster has not been decided.