The much-anticipated matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford is official here. These two pound-for-pounders meet in an undisputed fight at super middleweight. The biggest question of them all heading into fight night is Crawford’s ability to still look himself despite jumping two weight classes. Both men have elite-level skills, but will size ultimately tell the story? This event will take place in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming live on Netflix.
Terence Crawford has slowly but surely proved many wrong as he’s made his way through a successful career. The Nebraska native doesn’t have a sterling resume when it comes to high-level opposition. However, the eye test tells us all we need to know, along with several quality victories. Names such as Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, and Viktor Postol are fights in which he showed his worth.
Against Postol, Bud Crawford proved he could box wisely on the outside, a game plan he will likely attempt to employ versus Canelo. Crawford devoured Errol Spence, and regardless of what we think of Spence post-accident, Bud dismantled him. Shawn Porter gave Crawford a competitive fight until Bud was informed that he may need a stoppage, so he delivered just that.
In his last bout, Crawford moved up to the 154-pound division, and Bud’s performance was lackluster. It should be noted that his opponent, Israil Madrimov, fought in a particular style in which some thought winning was secondary. Either way, Madrimov was able to hang in there without taking all that much damage. So, was it the style clash or the new weight class or a little of both?
Canelo Alvarez’s resume is filled with names that will be or already are in the Hall of Fame. Many people thought he would duck Erislandy Lara after losing to Floyd Mayweather. Even more people who follow the sport closely thought Canelo was ducking Gennadiy Golovkin. When it was all said and done, he fought GGG three times. Yes, the third time took too long, but the fact remains that the deepest resume in the current crop of boxers from this generation, Canelo, has the best win-lose-or-draw.
In recent years, Canelo has been doubted; he will ever take on David Benavidez. Having been offered the most upfront money of his career at the time, Canelo has, for whatever reason, denied Benavidez a shot. Every boxer late in his or her career will face pressure to take on the younger boxer trying to make a name. In his case, Canelo signed a 4-fight deal and continues to fight, so it’s not as if he had just one or two fights left at the time and then retired. Facing guys like Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, and William Scull makes one wonder why Benavidez hasn’t earned his shot at Canelo.
The first ballot Hall of Fame once claimed he had no interest in fighting Terence Crawford because he wouldn’t get any credit due to size. And that is, in fact, the most important item when predicting the outcome. Both fighters tend to start slow, meaning Bud will have to buck that trend to get an early lead. Besides hand and foot speed advantages for Bud, Canelo fights at a slow pace overall, which could fall right into what game plan Crawford chooses.
On this week’s episode of the Rope A Dope Radio boxing podcast, the topic of Jermell Charlo’s two-weight class jump was discussed, specifically his fight against Canelo Alvarez. Many believed Charlo would revert to his old self by using his jab and boxing on the outside, creating a moving target while scoring points to win rounds. Once Jermell got knocked down, he went into survival mode for the rest of the fight.
This Saturday night will reveal whether Terrence Crawford is built differently. From media members, longtime boxing fans, to ex-pro boxers, the theme is that Bud Crawford will try to win this fight until the final bell. This boxing junkie does believe Crawford is a higher-level boxer than Jermell Charlo. Another item boxing folks have brought up is Bud’s reach advantage, which does exist. And if Bud decided to fight at range the whole fight, he could trouble Canel,o not allowing him to set up his offense and dig into his punches.
That said, Canelo has been at a disadvantage for many of his fights when it comes to arm reach. One last thing to bring up is just how difficult it is to win a decision over Canelo Alvarez. Just ask Golovkin, and let us not forget the draw scorecard Canelo received in a clean loss to Mayweather. The combination of Canelo being patient and at the same time motivated to beat the smaller guy, along with having an iron chin, has this boxing podcaster leaning for Canelo.
My Official Prediction is Canelo Alvarez by Decision.
PODCAST LINK: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rope-a-dope-radio-podcast/id1794655742?i=1000725818312
Side Note: Don’t miss the sure-fire Mbilli vs Martinez co-feature. Lester is a bit green, but Mbilli has shown to be vulnerable. My Pick is a minor upset Lester Martinez via Split-Decision.
Written by Chris Carlson, Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, iHeart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio