Canelo Alvarez says Terence Crawford’s last fight at 154 against Israil Madrimov showed that the right weight class for him is at 147.
Canelo states that Crawford’s performance at 154 was “different,” meaning he’s not the same fighter talent-wise as he was at 147. He’s not dominating, and he won’t be at this weight class or at 168.
Alvarez says he understands that Crawford wants to make history and believes he can move up to 168 and beat anybody. However, there are weight classes for a reason, and he’s hit his ceiling at 154. He doesn’t look like the fighter he was at 147.
Indeed, Crawford’s fight with WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov was razor-close and could have gone the other way. A draw would have been better because it was too close to pick a winner. Madrimov landed the cleaner, harder shots in every round, but the judges focused on his jabs.
WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) says he’s open to talking to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh about a fight with Crawford after his title defense against Edgar Berlanga on September 14th. Canelo says, “We can talk after this fight.”
Canelo Open to Crawford Fight
“I’m in the business. I can do the fight that is better for me, and if the money is right, it’s okay,” said Canelo Alvarez on the Pound 4 Pound YouTube channel about his thoughts on fighting Terence Crawford.
“I like to be comfortable, I like to be in peace, and they [His Excellency Turki Alalshikh] like to talk to me when I have a fight in front [of me], and I don’t like to work in that way,” said Canelo.
If Turki can make an offer Canelo finds agreeable, he’ll take the fight with Crawford. We’ll see if he’s willing to meet his price. I don’t think it will be a good fight for the fans, though, because Crawford will be too small, old, and weak to compete with Canelo at 168.
Crawford looked bad taking shots from Madrimov, and he was lucky the judges gave more weight to his jabs than the power shots he was getting nailed with. The judges aren’t going to do the same thing for Crawford against Canelo.
What is Crawford’s Real Motivation?
Maybe Crawford is focused on the money he’ll get and doesn’t care about winning the Canelo fight. It’s just a money grab for Crawford to cushion his retirement years, which is what many fans feel about it.
“I say, ‘Look, I don’t want to talk about any other fight,” said Canelo about the Crawford negotiations. “After the fight with Berlanga, we can sit and talk about it and make everything sense.’ But if not, I’m not begging for anything.
“I’m good in the position I’m in. I’m not begging to make a fight. I’m not begging to make that fight [Crawford]. I don’t need anything. I’m doing my own business. I’m good. So, if you want to make that, okay. We can talk after the fight,” said Canelo.
Crawford and Turki want the fight with Canelo, not the other way around. Canelo isn’t the one campaigning for the fight and was complaining nonstop earlier this month. Crawford made a big production after his unimpressive win over Madrimov. The only thing that was missing was the violins in the background, along with Crawford’s crying.
Crawford’s Limitations at Higher Weight
“He looks in his weight class. I think his weight class is 147,” said Canelo about Crawford. You can see the difference. You can see in the last fight [Israil Madrimov] that it’s different,” said Canelo when asked if he thinks Crawford can’t push people at 154.
Crawford looked like a fish out of the water at 154, showing no power and being afraid to attack for fear of being nailed by Madrimov. This is not a good weight class for Crawford, and it never will be. Even if he packs on a bunch of muscle, he’ll remain out of his depth at 154.
“I know that as fighters, we think we can do things. We can do everything. We can go up and fight everybody and beat them and think about that. But when you’re in there, it’s way different,: said Canelo.
“As a fighter, I know that he [Crawford] wants to make history and go up, and he believes he can beat everybody. That’s why there are weight classes,” said Canelo.
I don’t think Crawford’s rationale for wanting the Canelo fight is about legacy. I think he just wants the big money that comes from fighting him. If it were about legacy, Crawford would stop at 160 and capture belts first before moving to 168. But he wants that Canelo’s money, and legacy is secondary.
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