You can add Brian Norman’s name to the seemingly growing list of people who believe Terence Crawford will pull it off and defeat Canelo Alvarez when the two fight with all four super middleweight titles on the line in September. And Norman isn’t picking “Bud” just because he is his bud and because he has spent some time in his company. Norman, as he explained when speaking with The Ring, is yet another boxing expert who thinks Canelo is on the decline and that he has lost a good deal of his hunger and desire.
Crawford in comparison, has managed to do what ring greats Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather did when they fought, and that’s stay disciplined. Canelo has been “having the silk sheets and the silk this and silk that,” Norman said.
Canelo slipping? Norman isn’t convinced the fire’s still there
“I actually got my boy Crawford on that,” Norman said on who he thinks wins the big fight in September. “He is disciplined. He is another one of those disciplined fighters along with Floyd Mayweather, Bernard Hopkins, Marvin Hagler that are just straight disciplined to the game of boxing year-round. The crazy part is I’m actually a Canelo fan too. I feel like just over time……he on the decline. He not doing the stuff he used to do. Lately, he been having the silk sheets and silk this and silk that. Lately he been slipping.”
If the Canelo-Crawford fight comes down to conditioning along with sheer heart and desire, of who wants it most, maybe Crawford, who has lived the life and is still superbly disciplined as Norman said, can pull out a close decision win. Canelo still puts the work in in the gym, of course, but does he still have that inner fire? Norman, and some other people, don’t seem to think so.
Who’s fresher—Canelo or Crawford? Norman says it’s not even close
And though Canelo is a couple of years younger than Crawford, a good question is, who is the fresher fighter of the two? Norman has no doubt when it comes to who has the necessary mental attitude to get the win, and that’s Crawford. To many of us, the showdown set for Las Vegas is a truly fascinating matchup.
