Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford will beat Canelo Alvarez and “can make it a very easy fight” when they meet in September.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson says he has said for years that he thinks Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will beat Canelo. He says Canelo won’t be able to get through Crawford’s punches because he believes he can punch in “any weight class.”
Crawford didn’t look powerful in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov and couldn’t hurt him with his best punches. Madrimov looked like he was more dangerous and didn’t even load his shots like he usually does.
“Easy job” for Bud?
“I’ve been saying that for years. I’m probably the first to say this, even before Terence said this. I always thought it was his [Crawford] style against Canelo, I think he beat Canelo,” Shakur Stevenson said talkSport Boxing about his belief that Crawford will beat Canelo. “I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight, but he can make it a very easy fight.”
“I bumped into Terence in Dubai, and he’s really fat. He has gained weight recently. He’s 38 years old,” Gareth A. Davies said of the bulkier-looking Crawford. “He got fat.”
“And that’s another thing. I don’t think Canelo goes through his punches. Terence can hit, and that goes for any weight class,” Shakur said.
As Shakur says it sounds, Crawford will stand in the pocket and go to war with Canelo in September. That’s not realistic, given how Crawford has traditionally struggled when facing hitters. He tends to move around a lot, jabbing and jumping in to land punches.
Terence does not stay in one place or attack in all-out attacks. He fought Errol Spence aggressively, but that was because he was fighting a guy who was a shell of his former self after a car accident.
To adjust or not to adjust?
“It would be a little more than a year [13 months]. You have to be very careful if you’re going to fight over 160 lbs because that’s a new weight range,” said Chris Mannix on his YouTube channel about Terence Crawford having to be careful as he prepares to stay sharp for his September fight against Canelo Alvarez.
It is suspected that Crawford will take a risk by fighting a super middleweight to get his feet wet before his fight with Canelo in September. If Terence does fight in a weight class, it will be at catchweight, probably against a middleweight weighing in at 163 or 164.
I could see Crawford fighting one of these middleweights in the catchweight division around 164: Aaron McKenna, Liam Smith, Austin Williams or Kyrone Davis. Those guys aren’t a threat to beat Crawford, and they’re ranked low in the middleweight division.
“After fighting only once at 154 years old. I’m sure he can gain weight. He’s a tall guy. I’m sure he can fill out his frame well enough,” Mannix said of Crawford. “You have to be careful who you choose. You can’t choose the drill. You can’t pick anyone really dangerous. You can’t risk that bread [for Canelo fight].
“Remember when it’s Oscar [De La Hoya] fought Stevie Forbes before he fought Mayweather?” Mannix said.
It would be a shock if Crawford accepted any tune-up fight as he wouldn’t want to risk the money to fight Canelo and is comfortable fighting once a year.
Crawford hasn’t been active in five years, and he certainly won’t do so now that he’s on the verge of getting his biggest retirement against Alvarez.
