Canelo Alvarez, in speaking after his commanding win over a game, he-can-come-again Jaime Munguia, stated in no uncertain terms that he is still THE best fighter in the world right now – “for sure.” But Terence Crawford, who for many people is the pound-for-pound top dog, took to social media shortly after Canelo’s latest win, and “Bud” poured some serious cold water on Canelo’s newest victory.
“Look like Canelo carried him the whole fight,” Crawford wrote on social media.
Is this harsher than harsh, or is Crawford on to something? Munguia did show Canelo nothing but pure respect in the lead-up to last night’s fight, yes. And Canelo was equally pleasant towards Munguia. But so what? Too much is made of the pre-fight trash-talk stuff, the pushing and the shoving. It’s what happens in the ring that counts. And last night in Vegas, Canelo cracked Munguia with some massive no-respect shots, to both head and body.
Watching the fight, it looked at no point like Canelo was “carrying” Munguia. Canelo showed the young lion respect, for sure, but carry him, Canelo never did. Not from this DAZN ringside seat, anyway.
It has of course been suggested that Crawford could fight Canelo one day, and maybe Crawford took some offence when Canelo stated firmly how he is THE best in the world today? We would still love to see a Dream Fight turned into reality by way of Canelo facing Crawford, but as we know, Crawford will next fight at 154 pounds. With a win in August, and the winning of a fourth belt at as many weights, who knows what Crawford will look to do next.
But why has Terence belittled Canelo’s win? Accusing a fellow fighter of “carrying” a foe is perhaps one of the most hurtful accusations a pro can hurl at another ring warrior. Crawford is usually always a classy operator, but his demeaning of Munguia’s great effort tonight was not at all classy.
Now, who does Canelo fight next? David Benavidez? The ‘other’ Charlo? Edgar Berlanga? Or maybe, just maybe, the winner of the Crawford-Israil Madrimov winner??
Another question: who is the best P-4-P fighter today – Canelo, Crawford, or Naoya Inoue, who fights on Monday!
