Canelo-Crawford, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney return, Errol Spence, Floyd Mayweather

BoxingScene’s Midweek Mailbag Extravaganza: Canelo-Crawford, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney return, Errol Spence, Floyd Mayweather

In this week’s mailbag, we tackle the potential fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, the comeback fights leading to the likely rematch between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, what it means that Errol Spence won’t be fighting Sebastian Fundora, and your thoughts on what Floyd Mayweather’s best outing was.

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TERENCE CRAWFORD SHOULD’VE GONE FOR UNDISPUTED AT 154, NOT CANELO AT 168 

If Terence Crawford were looking for greatness, he’d have taken his shot at Sebastian Fundora. Crawford was two fights away from being the only modern male fighter ever to be undisputed in three weight divisions, and that would have actually made a Canelo fight seem more credible. And if Crawford wanted them, both fighters [Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev] said they wanted him, and Turki Alalshikh said he’d make the fights happen. 

But Crawford barely squeaked by Israil Madrimov and then sat out looking for the money fight or nothing. He’s gonna be in there looking to survive after he feels the power and realizes that Canelo can take his shots, and then he’ll be talking about how he dared to be great, just like Jermell Charlo did. Canelo isn’t on the top of the game in terms of skills and reputation any more either. The one thing he’s still on top of the game for is money, and that’s what Bud never got for most of his career.

Lance Pugmire’s response: It’s hard to begrudge Crawford for seeking a big money fight in the twilight of his career after being denied so many with the Premier Boxing Champions stable for so long. Crawford genuinely does seek greatness, and he’s made the business and legacy decision that chasing Canelo and possibly becoming a five-division champion ranging from lightweight to super middleweight is a greater feat than standing as a three-time undisputed champion. 

Plus, who’s to say he still can’t check those boxes knowing that the WBO has him next in line for unified titleholder Fundora, who, by all accounts, is going to take a bout he’ll be heavily favored in next? I agree the Madrimov bout was tough on Crawford. He needed to win the last two rounds to win. But he will have plenty of time to beef up and plot how to upset Canelo. And while you’d be a near-fool or deep Crawford loyalist to pick him against Alvarez, he’s definitely not going to perform as sheepishly as Charlo did. He deserves both the stage and the opportunity to see what he’s capable of achieving.

CANELO VS. CRAWFORD IS A MISMATCH

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford is a mismatch. Crawford could barely beat amateur Israil Madrimov and doesn’t want to fight the other junior middleweights, but rather get a retirement check from Canelo. This is like the Conor McGregor fans who thought McGregor had a chance, just because he was a great fighter in MMA with decent boxing skills. 

Owen Lewis’ response: A necessary correction before getting to the meat of this question: Madrimov may have had a great amateur career, but the 10-1-1 fighter is certainly not an amateur. He fought Crawford tough, maybe tougher than any “Bud” opponent to date. Given that Crawford viciously stopped the likes of Errol Spence, Shawn Porter and Yuriorkis Gamboa, I think that puts Madrimov in quite a positive light. Madrimov is up against Vergil Ortiz next, showing his willingness to step right back in against a dangerous foe after a loss, and is live to win that fight. So Crawford beating him narrowly is an excellent win, to be clear. 

But stepping up two further weight classes to fight Canelo… yeah, I’m not crazy about his chances either. I certainly wouldn’t compare this (yet to be officially announced) fight to Mayweather-McGregor – Crawford is a pro boxer, and the case that he’s a better pound-for-pound fighter than Canelo is perfectly viable.

Two things concern me about the Canelo fight. One, Crawford’s ability to take a super middleweight’s power. He has been clocked clean before, most recently by a series of Madrimov right hands. And though he never looked badly hurt, those rights were enough to convince Crawford that he couldn’t simply steamroll Madrimov. If Crawford fights Canelo, he will get hit – on the gloves, on the arms, in the body, and maybe right on the button. Even those predicting a Crawford win have to at least acknowledge the possibility that Canelo staggers him the first time he lands cleanly and knocks him out. 

My other concern is that the skill gap, even if Crawford has the edge, isn’t enormous. Canelo may be bigger, but he’s not lacking for flair – he’s accurate, defensively sound, and an expert at setting traps. The pressure he puts on opponents is educated yet stifling. This isn’t like Oleksandr Usyk-Derek Chisora, where the only thing the bigger man does better than the smaller man is hit hard. Crawford might have a difficult time with Canelo even if they were the same size. 

All that said, Crawford has earned the right to do whatever he wants. It annoys me when people say this about Canelo, given that he’s fought five straight opponents who everybody knew had no real shot to beat him. Crawford, on the other hand, has recently destroyed Spence in a perceived 50-50 fight, then picked up a title in a new weight class. If he wants to fight Canelo, I’ll watch with interest, even if I’m not so confident in him winning.

BREAKING DOWN THE GARCIA-ROMERO, HANEY-RAMIREZ, BAKOLE-AJAGBA SHOW

Ryan Garcia and Rolly Romero aren’t likeable figures for plenty of people considering their antics, but they aren’t exactly boring fighters. They are going to hype up the card for the base fanbase and likely put up an entertaining performance prior to a KO, likely done by Ryan. 

Whereas Devin Haney will likely put a dominant performance against the declining Jose Ramirez, whom Haney likely probably would have beaten in his prime considering he is a volume fighter that accumulates damage rather than having sufficient punching power to make Devin think twice. Good matchup, though not really an entertaining one unless Devin manages to get the stoppage. 

Martin Bakole vs. Efe Ajagba is likely the best one considering their winning streak and entertainment value. It might be overshadowed by the fighters from the U.S., but these two towering fighters from Africa both have a strong winning streak going for years against solid opposition. Hope it is the main event.

Lance Pugmire’s response: The anticipation of Ryan Garcia’s comeback fight being hitched to the fervent interest in his looming rematch with Devin Haney gives this card a significant boost – even before the curiosity over how they’ll squeeze a boxing venue into Times Square. 

Garcia and Romero were linked a few years ago, remember, as possible foes being forwarded by their bitter-rival promoters Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Who would have guessed that Rolly would become a world champion first before Ryan? Both have been roughed up along the way – Rolly by Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, Ryan by Davis as well – but this is another compelling match between unpredictable social-media dynamos who also know how to fight. Yes, the expectation is Garcia’s power will find Romero, but Rolly told me last month that he’s staying in his Las Vegas gym and is committed to the sport, so let’s see how they sell it and how they perform. 

As for Haney, yes, he’s returning against an apparently weakening Ramirez, but Jose is a proud warrior and former unified titleholder who will make this one interesting if Haney is indeed haunted by the ghosts of Garcia. My pick is Haney by a clear unanimous decision. And hats off to Turki Alalshikh for placing the comebacks of both Garcia and Haney on the same American card. Lastly, Bakole has so much to fight for – including a bout with Anthony Joshua in Africa – following his disposal of Jared Anderson. My expectation is he’ll trounce Ajagba, too.

UNDERWHELMED BY DEVIN HANEY’S NEXT OPPONENT

Devin Haney took a beating in his last fight and has had a long layoff, but I’m underwhelmed with the choice of opponent. Even in his prime, Jose Ramirez would have struggled with Devin Haney’s style. Ramirez is far from his prime. Haney by boring unanimous decision. 

Lucas Ketelle’s response: When fighters come back, they often do so against overmatched opposition. Jose Ramirez hasn’t looked like the prime version of himself since the Josh Taylor fight, but he is far from a tune-up. Haney has some demons to work through in the ring, whether he says so or not. Ramirez is a pressure fighter with nothing to lose and has a great trainer, Robert Garcia, working with him. Though it feels like a table-setter matchup for the inevitable rematch between Haney and Ryan Garcia, it also adds enough intrigue to be compelling, at least for me. Haney is going to have to withstand some formidable pressure after the worst performance of his professional career. It is a better matchup than most think it is

AFTER PULLING OUT OF FUNDORA FIGHT, ERROL SPENCE  MAY BE DONE

Tris Dixon’s response: The longer it goes, the more I make you right. Speaking with Errol last year (“Errol Spence On Becoming A Promoter, The Trauma Of The Car Crash And Losing To Crawford”), he sounded more passionate about managing than fighting, and even he seemed unsure of what his career and that horrific car crash took out of him. We know that comebacks rarely end well. Spence would want to be well-compensated should he return, and that means an easy fight would be unlikely, and the division is deep with talent. I didn’t think Fundora was the right match for him, but unless Spence has a couple of relatively straightforward assignments to get his mojo back, I’m not sure what would be. One last big payday seems likely, though.

LOOKING BACK AT FLOYD MAYWEATHER’S BEST OUTINGS

This was not Floyd’s best outing (“Floyd Mayweather vs. Diego Corrales: revisiting Pretty Boy’s best outing”). It was his most surprising. I thought he would struggle mightily against Corrales. I think everyone was shocked by the ease in which Mayweather dominated Diego. Mayweather’s best outing was against Jesus Chavez. Floyd had to dig down to pull it off. He forced Chavez’s corner to throw in the towel, because Floyd showed how relentless he could become and be. I looked at Mayweather differently after that fight.

Tris Dixon’s response: You make some salient points and, let’s be honest, you could take your pick for Floyd’s best performance. Plenty of comments spoke of Mayweather having to show heart against Miguel Cotto, Marcos Maidana and Emanuel Augustus, and it’s something he’s not often credited with because of all of the landslide wins he earned. He was just about flawless against Canelo Alvarez, Arturo Gatti, Robert Guerrero and others. And while I can see what you’re saying about Jesus Chavez, the Diego Corrales fight is one that echoes through the annals of time for good reason.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.