Gervonta Davis’ coach Kenny Ellis says Terence Crawford is “way more skilled” than Canelo Alvarez and will “beat him convincingly” at 168 to dethrone him if he’s still holding onto his undisputed super middleweight championship after his title defense against Jermell Charlo on September 30th.
Ellis feels that Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will capitalize on the way Canelo gives up real estate for no reason, fighting off the ropes and trying to roll with the punches.
Canelo doesn’t possess the technical skills to compete with a talent like Crawford, who will take him to school the way Dmitry Bivol did, but it’ll be much worse for the Mexican star because Terence has the killer instinct. Crawford won’t let Canelo hang around for twelve rounds like Bivol did.
It’s still too early to know if Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) will choose to fight Crawford because if he gets whipped by Jermell next month, it would be pointless for Terence to go up to 168 to fight the Mexican star.
If Crawford does go up, it’ll be to battle Jermell for the four super middleweight belts to try and become a three-division undisputed champion. That would be history-making for Crawford, cementing him in as the best fighter in this era.
Terence smarter than Canelo
“Crawford can get pretty heavy when he’s not in camp, but if he can condition himself at that weight, I think it’ll be a good fight,” said Gervonta Davis’ coach Kenny Ellis to MillCity Boxing about Terence Crawford having the ability to move up to 168 to tangle with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
“I think, technically, he’s got enough tricks to hold his own against Canelo. I think he’ll be alright. Yeah, he’s [Crawford] way better skilled than Canelo. I’m definitely going for him in that fight. It’ll be real technical, though, a real technical fight.”
It’s pretty clear to fans that Crawford is a far more technically skilled fighter than Canelo, who looks like he took a few things from his fight against an old Floyd Mayweather Jr., especially the fighting on the ropes stuff, rolling with punches and the shoulder roll.
But that junk isn’t nearly enough for Canelo to hang with a technical talent like Crawford, who has much more in his arsenal.
“Yeah, twelve round decision. I don’t think foolish, but I definitely think he’ll [Crawford] get the best end of the stick. He’ll definitely have to work, but he’s a little smarter than Canelo,” said Ellis.
Canelo’s lifestyle affecting his career
“I think Canelo’s lifestyle is kind of fading because he’s been out doing a lot of stuff he wasn’t doing in the early part of his career, and it’s eventually going to catch up with him. A lot of bad habits catch up to you when you’re doing this boxing,” said Ellis.
It’s no secret that Canelo plays a lot of golf, and that obviously is taking away time that he should be devoting to improving his game. With Canelo’s huge $200 million+ fortune, he doesn’t seem to have the ambition to keep working hard & learning to improve his craft.
Hard-working fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson must be turning over in their grave when looking at that golf-playing Canelo loafing instead of staying in the gym.
“When I say ‘bad habits,’ I mean the club life and drinking & stuff,” said Ellis. Yeah, it’ll be 50-50 with Canelo & Charlo, but I think Terence is going to beat him convincingly.
“I got Terence fighting him a little closer than what people think. Canelo has got this thing where he rolls with the punches. I got Terence capitalizing on that. Terence is smart, real smart, and he’s stronger than what people think he is too.
“Terence will come in a strong 160, real strong. He walks around over 160, and he does a lot of physical training & wrestling. There ain’t much Canelo can offer that he hasn’t seen. So, I got Terence winning. Terence is smart.
“His lifestyle is simple. He doesn’t do a whole bunch of stuff that works against his career.
“He gets pretty flat-footed at times, and sometimes he gives up a lot of real estate for no reason. It’s going to pay off with Terence if he does it against Terence,” Ellis said about defects that he’s noticed with Canelo Alvarez.
