Terence Crawford’s sparring partner, Steven Nelson, says his power has increased with the size that he’s packed on for his fight against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th. He states that Crawford’s ability, hand speed, and movement are just as good as before he bulked up. The only thing that’s changed is his power.
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will challenge Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It’s a big two-weight jump for Crawford, going up from 154 to 168 to try to dethrone Alvarez.
Crawford’s Newfound Power
“Bud is going to do something that nobody ever expected. A lot of the doubters are going to be like, ‘damn,’ but they’ll come up with excuses like always,” said Steven Nelson to Fighthype about his prediction for Terence Crawford defeating Canelo Alvarez.
There are many fans who are picking Crawford to win. So, it won’t be unexpected if he defeats Canelo on September 13th. It’s still a tall order. Canelo can be outworked, but due to his power, he still wins rounds because his shots are harder. That’s the problem Crawford has. I don’t believe his power is on the level of Canelo’s last opponent, William Scull, nor his hand speed or combination punching ability. Alvarez still beat him by a 12-round unanimous decision despite throwing only 152 punches in the entire fight.
“Now, I feel it’s different,” said Nelson when asked if Crawford’s power has increased with the muscle he’s put on. “Now, he has the power. He’s always had power, but now, it’s a different power,” said Nelson. “He still has the speed, movement, and ability. It’s crazy. Ain’t nothing changed, man. They’re going to see. I wish it were September [13] tomorrow.”
Power on the Lower End
Crawford had power at 135, 140, and 147. He was more of a combination puncher in those weight classes. That’s how he got his knockouts. At 154, Crawford’s shots weren’t on the level of the more powerful fighters in the division. In my opinion, his power was on the lower end of the spectrum, similar to that of Xander Zayas and Josh Kelly.
“Everybody is going to see. It’s going to be groundbreaking. It’s going to be something like a spaceship landing on Earth. People don’t know until they get in the ring. Like Errol said, ‘Bud’s power is real.’ That’s what makes people great. They always do something that people don’t expect,” said Nelson.
Crawford’s power wasn’t “groundbreaking” in his last fight, moving up from 147 to 154 to battle WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024. The fight showed that Terence’s strength hadn’t increased. He’d moved up, but his power appeared to be on the level of a welterweight. Now, Nelson is saying that Crawford’s power is “different.” What are we to believe?
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson didn’t see anything impressive in Crawford’s performance against Madrimov. “You gotta look good in order to not mess up your next fight. You fight this guy and you get your ass beat up,” said Tyson to Sports Illustrated.”
Fans would jump on board the Crawford bandwagon if he’d moved up to super middleweight in the last 13 months and beaten a couple of the top contenders. With Crawford choosing just to sit for an entire year, what does he expect people to think? He’s chosen not to take any risks and just wait for his super-fight against Canelo.