Coach Stephen Edwards believes Terence Crawford has sufficient dimension, energy, conditioning, and technical abilities to maneuver as much as 168 and defeat unified tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Edwards thinks that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) couldn’t beat David Benavidez, David Morrell, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitry Bivol. These guys are too large and too technical for the 37-year-old Crawford. However the 34-year-old Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is beginning to present indicators of age, and he’s beatable for Crawford.
Weak Champion
Canelo will flip 35 on July 18th, and he’s did not knock out his final six opponents. His final knockout got here three years in the past towards Caleb Plant on November 6, 2021.
The Mexican star has not indicated that he’s going to combat Crawford, and he received’t comply with the match except he feels he can win. His web price is estimated at $250 million. So, no matter cash Turki Alalshikh may supply Alvarez wouldn’t entice him to take the Crawford combat except he needed it. He’s already acquired sufficient dough to dwell wealthy for 20 lifetimes, and he can proceed to make many thousands and thousands per combat, taking straightforward opposition.
“Sure, I feel he can go as much as 168 and combat sure folks. Do I feel he can combat Benavidez or Morrell? No, they’re too large, too expert, and too tall. That will be so much to beat,” mentioned Stephen Edwards to Fighthype, speaking about Terence Crawford being too small to combat Benavidez or Morrell at tremendous middleweight.
“Canelo comes from the smaller weights and is identical top as Crawford. I really assume Crawford is a bit of taller. Crawford’s arms are approach longer, and he has the significantly better fuel tank. I’ve by no means seen Crawford drained.
“Canelo let’s guys off the hook these days that when he was on his finest run, he would usually cease them. Now, he’s letting them off the hook as a result of he doesn’t have that additional push in his fuel tank. If Bud fought Canelo at 168, Bud can be stuffed with energy. He would have the ability to eat no matter he needed to eat at any time of day,” mentioned Edwards.
Crawford is getting fairly previous, too, at 37, and he virtually misplaced his debut at 154 towards Israil Madrimov on August third. He received’t have the ability to win rounds towards Canelo with the weak photographs he was touchdown towards Madrimov. These punches regarded weak in comparison with when he was combating at 147, 140 and 135.
The judges will give Canelo the rounds towards Crawford, even when he’s outworked. If Canelo’s photographs are a lot more durable, he’ll win the rounds. Crawford doesn’t hit as laborious as Jermell Charlo or Erislandy Lara, and people guys had been overmatched power-wise towards Canelo.
Genius At Work?
“His vitality ranges can be off the hook. He’ll most likely come into the ring at 159 or 160 lbs. There’s no want to come back in at 168 simply because that’s the load restrict. He must be quick in that combat,” mentioned Edwards about Crawford.
“I informed him [Crawford], ‘That combat you fought that evening [against Viktor Postol at 140, eight years ago on July 23, 2016], that’s the combat that might beat Canelo.’ He type of smiled. I feel Bud is a genius, and generally, whenever you’re a genius, you don’t know you’re a genius. He has the flexibility to make changes in fights.”
The combat towards Viktor Postol was a very long time in the past when Crawford was 28 years previous. He’s now 37, and he doesn’t look as younger, quick, or cell as he was within the Postol combat. Crawford has aged. So, evaluating this model of Crawford to the one which fought Postol to make use of as an argument for why he’ll beat Canelo is senseless. That model of Crawford now not exists.
That was one other individual. If he had been a monstrous puncher like Artur Beterbiev, it wouldn’t be an enormous deal that Crawford is now not as younger as he as soon as was. He’s not an enormous puncher and wins his fights on pace, reflexes, and boxing abilities. That’s not going to be sufficient at his present bodily state to beat Canelo, and the judges received’t do him any favors.
“I don’t assume he can beat guys like Bivol and Beterbiev. I feel that’s an excessive amount of, however Canelo,” mentioned Edwards. “He’s a terrific fighter, however my eyes inform me he’s slowing down a bit. The Canelo that fought Berlanga. Three years in the past, Canelo would knock Berlanga out. That’s not a combat. That’s a public execution.
“The truth that he let Berlanga go the space. He let Munguia go the space. He let Charlo go the space. Bud’s motion, conditioning, and power. Bud is so much stronger than folks notice. I’m not saying he’s stronger than Canelo. He’s robust sufficient. It’s not a weigh-lifting contest,” mentioned Edwards.
