The long-awaited showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, set for September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, has fight fans buzzing with excitement. This is the matchup ‘Bud’ and his supporters have been calling for, and now it’s finally happening! But just as the hype reaches a fever pitch, controversy crashes the party—rumors are swirling that the judges might be playing favorites.

After Crawford’s many pleas to Canelo Alvarez, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh finally managed to sign Canelo into a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season earlier this year. The Mexican superstar will fight IBF super-middleweight champion William Scull in May in a bid to become the undisputed champion, making the Crawford fight even bigger.

Despite already being a massive underdog, having to climb at least two weight classes to face Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford may encounter an even greater challenge—the judges’ favoritism toward Canelo. According to former professional boxer Ronnie Shields, if this bias exists, Crawford’s chances of winning are slim to none. “I believe Crawford can win it if the judges [don’t] steal it,” said the 66-year-old in an interview with Fight Hub TV recently. “That’s number one… If you don’t have judges I think Terence is smart enough to win this way.” Meanwhile, when asked if Canelo’s age has slowed him down, Shields shared his perspective.

“I don’t see him taking any step back. I really truly don’t,” Shields told the reporter. “I think Canelo gets up for every fight. Of course, he’s getting older so he’s not as flashy as he was a few years ago. But at the same time, he’s strong and he’s very smart. But for me, I just think Terence Crawford is a really smart guy. He understands every angle of the ring, he knows where he should be and shouldn’t be and people overlook that all the time.”

However, Shields isn’t the only one with opinions about the Canelo vs. Crawford fight.

Oscar De La Hoya predicts Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford

Oscar De La Hoya has made a bold prediction for the highly anticipated Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford showdown, set for September in Las Vegas. The former champion and promoter believes Canelo’s size and power will be too much for Crawford.

“Look, fighter versus fighter and talent, obviously Crawford is the craftier boxer but Canelo has the size, he has the power and it’s like [Bob] Arum said: he’ll run right through him,” De La Hoya told Fight Hype.

He expects Canelo to take control in the later rounds: “It’ll be a one-sided fight for maybe let’s say seven rounds and then Canelo starts attacking, attacking, he starts to take it to deep waters and the power will eventually be too much.”

That said, it appears Terence Crawford will be fighting Canelo Alvarez, as well as the judges. At least, that’s what Ronnie Shields suggests. However, it’s worth noting that there’s no concrete evidence that there will be any favoritism. After all, Dmitry Bivol defeated Canelo! What do you think about the situation?