Terence Crawford reacted to today’s news of Canelo Alvarez fighting IBF 168-lb champion William Scull next on May 3rd, saying he’ll look forward to becoming an undisputed champion in his third division when he faces the Mexican star on September 13th.
Fans just see Crawford, 37, as chasing a payday against Canelo. Terence needs to try to collect the four belts at 154 because he seems to have lost his courage entirely after the close call he had in his debut in that division against WBA champion Israil Madrimov.
That guy scared Crawford away, showing that he’s physically built to handle the sharks at 154, and that age has caught up to him. All the inactivity, weak match-making, moving up in weight, and just getting older showed that Crawford is not the same guy he was at in the lower weight classes.
Popcorn Fight
I just wonder if Turki Al-Sheikh follows boxing closely enough to know that Crawford is not as good as he thinks he is. If he was, he wouldn’t have lost to Madrimov, would he? That fight showed that Terence isn’t good enough to beat the top guys at junior middleweight, and that’s why he wants he’s so desperate for that golden parachute retirement payday against Canelo. He knows if he fought Vergil Ortiz Jr, Bakhram Murtazaliev, or Madrimov in a rematch, he’d lose.
If I were a casual fan, I’d be fooled by Crawford as well. I’d see that one fight against Errol Spence and think he’s 24k gold. I wouldn’t know that Spence is completely washed up after his car crashes and a slew of injuries. Even then, I’d still think Crawford is boring to watch compared to other fighters. He doesn’t pass the eye test.
You look at Crawford’s fight, and then you compare him to David Benavidez or Vergil Ortiz Jr he doesn’t rate as worthy of being put on Turki’s cards. If I were him, Terence wouldn’t get anywhere near my cards because he’s poison for the eyes.
If Canelo-Crawford is just about superficial, mindless junk food entertainment with no sporting value, there are better fights than this to serve the purpose. Recruit someone with an exciting style to put in with Canelo for a circus fight. How about taking Artur Beterbiev and using him as Canelo’s opponent for a “big fight,” as Turki calls them?
Just feed Canelo to Beterbiev and let the spectacle begin. Fans would enjoy the product much more than watching Crawford run around the ring against Canelo. Again, I wonder how much Turki knows about boxing. If he were a real hardcore fan, he’d know that Crawford is mind-numbingly dull.
Good luck @Canelo in your next fight. I’m looking forward to becoming a 3x Undisputed Champion.😉
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) February 9, 2025
“If Terence is in 15-round shape, I can see him making it real interesting,” said Gary Russell Jr. to MillCity Boxing about Terence Crawford needing to be in great shape for him to have a shot at beating Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.
“If Terence is in 15-round shape, he’s going to make it real difficult for Canelo. It’s going to be a real good fight for the first half. If we have a solid Canelo where he’s planting and letting his hands go, and not just letting one or two hard punches go, [it’s bad for Crawford].
“If he starts putting that s*** together and close the distance and he gets up on Bud, and goes ‘boom-boom,’ oh, my God. I don’t know if Bud is defensively sound to handle that s*** in the backend of the fight. He [Crawford] needs to be in shape for him not to be there for that s***, and put that stick on his a**. He needs to move, feint, and break his rhythm, touching him in between. He needs to be in shape to do that.”
Canelo doesn’t need to throw combinations to beat Crawford. Once he hits him the first time, the Nebraska native is going to be running to survive. He’ll be holding, jabbing and moving. Fans are going to feel stupid for having ordered the Canelo vs. Crawford fight on PPV, even if it’s sold at a bargain basement price in the $20 range. I doubt that Turki will sell it that cheap. He’ll probably stick a higher $80 to $100 price stage on it.
“If he can’t do that, yeah, boy. But if I had to bet on anybody, I would bet on Canelo. I think it could be a combination of both,” said Gary when asked if Crawford is fighting Canelo for ‘The bag’ or because he ‘thinks he can beat him. “Even if it were for the bag, so? We’re prizefighter, get that money. At least he ain’t trying to be no sucker. He’s willing to fight.
“Even if he thinks he’s going to lose, ‘F*** it, I’m going to go get this money.’ I can respect that. But it could be a piece of him that’s like, ‘If I get in good enough shape, I can box the s*** out of him. I’ll just move, stay the f*** away from him, touch him when I want to. I can get that money, and I can beat him,’” said Russell.
Last Updated on 02/08/2025
