Anthony Dirrell believes Terence Crawford will be victorious, jumping up two weight classes without experience to defeat undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13th in Las Vegas. Dirrell says Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) wouldn’t be taking the fight against Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) if he didn’t believe he could win.
Crawford Cashing Out for Retirement?
Crawford, being paid a reported $50 million, is a mighty good incentive for him to take the fight, even if he doesn’t believe he can win. Dirrell doesn’t seem to have thought about that. This isn’t just a regular payday for Terence like the ones he was routinely getting years ago when he was still with Top Rank.
Turki Alalshikh is paying him huge dough, and he isn’t making him prove himself first by beating one of the top super middleweights. It’s being given to him based on his past accomplishments. Most fans would agree that if Crawford had to earn the Canelo fight, he’d lose. He barely won his last fight at 154 against Israil Madrimov.
“The strategy is having my hand raised and everybody’s mouth dropping. That sums it up,” said Terence Crawford to Boxing Social about his September 13th fight against Canelo Alvarez. “I just want the opportunity to fight the best fighter in my generation that’s out there.
“He’s the most accomplished fighter in today’s sport of boxing other than myself, and I would just like to fight another great. I think it’ll be the biggest fight in boxing today,” said Crawford.
Crawford’s Resume: Broner Comparison
Terence is no more accomplished than Adrien Broner. Like Broner, Crawford has won four division world titles, and similarly, his resume is weak. He’s accomplished in a rake way.
Terence’s Best Career Wins
– Israil Madrimov
– Errol Spence
– Shawn Porter
– Viktor Postol
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
– Kell Brook
– Julius Indongo
– Jose Benavidez Jr
– Jeff Horn
– Ricky Burn
Dirrell Predicts Crawford Over Canelo
“Crawford has sparred bigger people, but not fought them without headgear. It’s totally different, sparring and fighting, because you’re going to feel that punch in fighting for sure,” said Anthony Dirrell to Sean Zittel about Crawford moving up two weight classes to fight the bigger Canelo.
Crawford sparring with bigger fighters means nothing, given that it was with headgear in a controlled environment, and not against elite-level fighters. If they were elite, they wouldn’t be working as sparring partners, would they?
“I think he will handle it; otherwise, he wouldn’t be going up. It’s Terence Crawford. If he knows he can do it, he can do it. Terence Crawford, 100%,” said Dirrell when asked if he would bet on Crawford winning.
Dirrell is overlooking Crawford fighting Canelo for the money rather than for a legacy. This isn’t about legacy because if it were, he’d have taken one or two tune-ups at 168 to prepare himself for the fight. Crawford is sitting for an entire year from August 2024 to September 2025 without fighting. That reeks of a fighter cashing out for a retirement purse.
Turki Alalshikh should have insisted that Crawford beat at least one top-run super middleweight or light heavyweight before he’d give him the golden payday match against Alvarez. Most fans would agree that David Benavidez is the guy that Turki should have told Terence that he must beat to get the Canelo fight.