Terence Crawford is one of Dmitry Bivol’s favorite fighters.

Boxing’s undisputed light heavyweight champion consequently considers Crawford a very live underdog against Canelo Alvarez. Bivol views Crawford’s awkwardness, ring IQ and versatility as assets that should serve him well when he moves up two divisions to challenge Alvarez for his Ring, IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Bivol, who upset Alvarez on points in May 2022, also admires Crawford’s mental toughness. Crawford’s fortitude is one of the four-division champion’s greatest advantages, according to Bivol, over others who have approached Alvarez entirely too cautiously.

“He’s strong mentally and he [wants] this fight from the core,” Bivol told The Ring. “[That’s] how I see it. And it gives him [confidence] with this mentality.”

Crawford’s size surprised Bivol when they saw each other in person. He realizes it will be unknown until fight night how Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) handles Alvarez’s power at his new weight, but Bivol is convinced he's beyond ready for a legacy-defining fight.

“It’s not about only getting used to the power,” Bivol said. “It’s also about being mentally ready, because when people are not prepared mentally, and they’re like afraid or scared, you become weak. Your body becomes weak.

"When something happens and it’s something new, and you wasn’t ready for it, we all know this feeling, like the body becomes melting, like just soft. And mentality is very important, also, for this fight. Even [if] he’s two classes lower, if he’s mentally ready he will be ready to get these punches and be OK with this. He should be good.”

Russia’s Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs), who held the WBA light heavyweight title, outpointed Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) unanimously three years ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Bivol was the bigger fighter that night, though, as Alvarez moved back up from the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds to 175.

Bivol defeated the Mexican by the same score, 115-113, on the cards of judges Tim Cheatham, Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld. He might’ve deserved a wider win than that, but Bivol and Floyd Mayweather remain the only fighters who’ve beaten Alvarez during his illustrious 19-year career.

Crawford, of Omaha, Nebraska, will become undisputed champion in a third division if he dethrones Alvarez. He’ll end a 13-month layoff in a main event Netflix will stream worldwide.

Alvarez, 35, is 6-0 since Bivol beat him, but each of those fights has gone 12 rounds. The Guadalajara native hasn’t produced a knockout since he stopped Caleb Plant in the 11th round of their November 2021 title unification fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Alvarez will face an opponent ranked higher than him on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list for the first time since he squared off against Gennadiy Golovkin in their rematch. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin was ranked No. 1 by entering each of their first two bouts in September 2017 and September '18.

Crawford, 37, is ranked No. 3 by The Ring, one position above Bivol and five spots atop Alvarez.