TKO Boxing promoter Dana White says he expects Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford to be a ‘war’ on Saturday night in their 12-round headliner at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Fans are hoping he’s right because there’s so much hype about this clash, and it’s not the fight that fans had asked for.
Crawford is more of a boxer/mover than the type that is going to stand in the center ring and trade leather with the undisputed super middleweight champion. With him coming up with effectively three divisions for this fight, that’s even more reason why this fight won’t be the war that White promises it’ll be.
The Flimsy Legacy Argument
“What I truly believe is because Crawford is moving up in weight and this legacy thing is so important to him, he’s going to come at Canelo,” said Zuffa Boxing promoter Dana White to Fight Hub TV about Saturday’s fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
If legacy is so vital to Crawford, why didn’t he stay at 154 to try and round up the three titles he needed to become undisputed in this weight class? Why didn’t Crawford move up to 160 and challenge the champions to become undisputed in that weight class? This suggests that Terence’s true aim is for the big money he’s going to get fighting Alvarez.
Many fans believe that Crawford’s main reason for moving up to 168 pounds to fight Canelo is the $50 million that Turki Alalshikh is paying him. Legacy has nothing to do with it.
Will It Be a War?
“You know how Canelo is a counter-puncher and hits hard, and I think it’s going to be a war,” said White.
Crawford doesn’t get involved in wars. That’s never been his style. He’s a boxer/puncher who typically doesn’t stay in the pocket and trade with his opponents. Crawford stood in the pocket against Errol Spence Jr. in their fight on July 29, 2023, only because he was drained and a broken shell of the fighter he’d been in the past. He was vulnerable enough for Crawford to go to war against him.
“And I don’t ever try to go out and oversell a fight. I think this fight is going to be even better than people expect,” said White.
Beyond the Promoter’s Hype
Dana added that fans need to go out and subscribe to Netflix if they aren’t already members, so they can watch this fight on Saturday. He says that Crawford could have stayed in his weight class and made a lot of money. But he wanted to move up to super middleweight to fight Canelo.
Well, I wonder if the 50 million smackers that Terence was offered had something to do with his decision to move up for the Alvarez fight?