Oscar De La Hoya Says Mayweather Tops Crawford on Skill
Oscar De La Hoya says Floyd Mayweather Jr. was the more technically complete fighter, putting him above Terence Crawford in a debate that still hangs over elite modern boxing. The comparison turns on how each man handled Canelo Alvarez, with De La Hoya pointing back to Mayweather’s 2013 performance.
He said, “Floyd Mayweather toyed with Canelo. He literally toyed with him.” De La Hoya added, “He didn’t get hit at all, not one time,” then drew the line directly between styles: “And Crawford, yeah, he’s more of a fighter-boxer. Mayweather’s more of a boxer, but I have to disagree.”
2013 against Canelo Alvarez
Mayweather’s 2013 fight with Canelo gives De La Hoya the basis for his ranking. He said, “I think Mayweather is much more superior than Crawford” and followed it with a technical defense that did not lean on emotion or reputation: “Not just because he beat me and it was a close fight, or that I stepped in the ring with Mayweather, but I really feel that, technically, Mayweather’s a better fighter.”
That puts De La Hoya’s view on the record as more than nostalgia. He fought Mayweather in 2007, so his judgment carries the weight of someone who shared the ring with him, but he still framed the comparison around control, clean defense, and what happened against Canelo rather than around who has the louder résumé.
Crawford’s three-title case
Crawford retired last year after defeating Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. He also held undisputed championships at welterweight and junior welterweight, a run that keeps him in the same conversation even as De La Hoya rates Mayweather higher on craft.
The friction point is simple: Crawford’s title line is deeper, but De La Hoya is judging the fighters on how they looked when Canelo was in front of them. He also said Mayweather later beat Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley, and Juan Manuel Marquez during his undefeated career, a résumé point that strengthens the case for those who already rank him first on skill.
Mayweather debate keeps moving
Fans continue comparing Mayweather and Crawford through the Canelo lens, and De La Hoya’s comments add a blunt former-opponent view to that argument. If the debate is reduced to pure technical boxing, his answer is clear: Mayweather’s handling of Canelo, plus the 2007 result over De La Hoya, still gives him the edge over Crawford’s title haul.
