Former four-division titleholder Mikey Garcia said he disapproves of a potential super middleweight clash between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), who gritted out a win over Israil Madrimov last August to earn a 154lbs title, has expressed interest in moving up two divisions to challenge Alvarez, 62-2-2 (39 KOs), who would represent the most significant opponent – and payday – yet for Crawford.
Garcia recently told Fight Hub TV that his path crossed with Crawford’s at last December’s WBC Convention in Hamburg, Germany, where he lauded him on all his accomplishments to date.
“Crawford is one of the best fighters that I’ve seen,” Garcia said. “I told him, ‘Dude, you’re a badass. You’ve been a badass. You don’t always get the recognition because of politics in boxing and favoritism here and there.’ But he truly does have the skills. He’s a great fighter and he’s proven it multiple times, obviously.”
Still, Garcia questions how Crawford, who fought early in his career at lightweight, would deal with Alvarez at 168, where Canelo unified the division and has yet to lose a fight (going 9-0). Alvarez has faced the likes of Gennadiy Golovkin, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, Callum Smith, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia, among others, at 168, which currently makes him the most experienced fighter in the division.
“Where do you plan on going – 164, 165, 166?” Garcia asked. “Canelo ain’t gonna come down to 160. Maybe 166, maximum, if he accepts. I think Canelo wins that fight based on just the size – the power and size. Now, skillswise, I think Crawford is a better-skilled fighter. But the difference in size will be the deciding factor, and that’s why I’m not even a fan of that fight.”
Garcia said Crawford, a 37-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, has accomplished all that he can in four divisions between 135 and 154, and acknowledges the financial lure of a Canelo fight for Crawford, who has never faced a marquee opponent.
But he called on both Alvarez and Crawford to consider taking different career paths rather than facing each other.
“As a fight fan, I’d rather see Canelo move up and fight somebody like [Artur] Beterbiev or [Dmitry] Bivol again,” Garcia said. “If he wanted to challenge himself, then he should move up to 175 and challenge himself against those guys – not a smaller guy moving up.
“And same thing with Crawford. He doesn’t need to fight Canelo. He can just fight other guys at 154.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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