Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford will beat Canelo Alvarez and that he “can make it a very easy fight” when they meet in September.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson states that he’s been saying for years that he thinks Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will beat Canelo. He says Canelo won’t be able to walk through Crawford’s punches because he feels he can punch at “any weight class.”
Crawford didn’t look powerful in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov and was unable to hurt him with his best shots. Madrimov looked like he was doing more dangerous, and he wasn’t even loading up on his punches like he usually does.
“Easy Work” For Bud?
“I’ve been saying this for years now. I’m probably the first one that been saying this, even before Terence is saying this. I always thought that his [Crawford] style vs. Canelo, I think he beats Canelo,” said Shakur Stevenson to talkSport Boxing about his belief that Crawford will beat Canelo. “I’m not saying it’ll be an easy fight, but he can make it a very easy fight.”
“I ran into Terence in Dubai, and he’s really thicker. He’s thickened out recently. He’s 38,” said Gareth A. Davies about Crawford looking bigger. “He has thickened out.”
“That’s another thing too. I don’t think Canelo is walking through his punches. Terence can punch, and that goes for any weight class,” said Shakur.
The way Shakur makes it sound, Crawford will be standing in the pocket and going to war with Canelo in September. That’s not realistic, given how Crawford has traditionally fought when facing punchers. He tends to move a lot, jabbing and jumping in to land punches.
Terence doesn’t stay in one place or attack in all-out blitzes. He fought aggressively against Errol Spence, but that was because he was fighting a guy who was a shell of his former self after his car crash.
To Tune-up, or Not?
“It would be a little over a year [13 months]. You got to be very careful if you’re going to take a fight above 160 lbs, because it’s a new weight range,” said Chris Mannix on his YouTube channel about Terence Crawford needing to be careful when he takes a tune-up to stay sharp for his September fight against Canelo Alvarez.
It’s doubtful that Crawford will take a risk by taking a tune-up against a super middleweight to get his feet wet before fighting Canelo in September. If Terence does fight at in the weight class, it’ll be at a catchweight, likely against a middleweight that comes up in weight to 163 or 164.
I could see Crawford fighting one of these middleweights at a catchweight around 164: Aaron McKenna, Liam Smith, Austin Williams, or Kyrone Davis. Those guys are no threat to beating Crawford, and they’re ranked low at middleweight.
“Having fought just once at 154. I’m sure he can put on the weight. He’s a long guy. I’m sure he can fill out his frame well enough,” said Mannix about Crawford. “You got to be careful who you select. You can’t be selecting a puncher. You can’t select anyone really dangerous. You can’t risk that bread [for Canelo fight].
“Remember when Oscar [De La Hoya] fought Stevie Forbes before he fought Mayweather?” said Mannix.
It would be a shock if Crawford took any tune-up fight because he wouldn’t want to risk the money for the Canelo fight, and he’s comfortable fighting once a year.
Crawford hasn’t been active in five years, and he’s certainly not going to do it now that he’s on the verge of getting a career-high retirement payday against Alvarez.
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