Crawford to defy odds?

It could be a case of Terence Crawford biting more than he can chew. He's moving up two divisions to challenge Mexico's Saul (Canelo) Alvarez, who's defending his WBO, WBA, WBC, and IBF super middleweight belts in a scheduled 12-rounder at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this morning (Manila time).

- By JOAQUIN M. HENSON

LAS VEGAS –

The fight is destined to be a classic confrontation between two future Hall of Famers. Crawford, 37, is undefeated with a 41-0 record, punctuated by 31 KOs. Alvarez, 35, has a 63-2-2 slate with 39 KOs, and his only losses were to Floyd Mayweather at light middleweight and Dmitry Bivol at light heavyweight, both on points. The draws were with Jorge Juarez on his fifth bout and Gennady Golovkin. Alvarez decisioned Golovkin twice after their standoff.

Although Alvarez is two years younger, there's a lot more wear and tear on his armor. Alvarez turned pro at 15 and has logged 520 rounds in 67 matches, while Crawford made his pro debut at 20 and has fought 245 rounds in 41 bouts. The quality of Alvarez's opposition is at a higher level than Crawford's, and it's a knock on the Omaha switch-hitter's ability to face a tested gladiator.