Amir Khan says Terence Crawford can hurt Canelo Alvarez with his power, and his ring IQ gives him a chance of beating the Mexican star on September 13th when they meet for their mega-fight.
Khan respects Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to be moving up two divisions to challenge Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) for his WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight titles at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It’s brave on Crawford’s part to take that kind of risk at his age.
The only question is, does Crawford have the chin to take what Canelo is dishing out for 12 rounds? Canelo has the one-punch power that can damage Crawford when he lands, and he will connect at some point. It’s just how Crawford will react. Will he go down for the count, take the shots, and fight back, or run as Jermell Charlo did?
Crawford’s IQ: A Key Factor?
“He’s one of the best fighters in the world. Going up two divisions is something I did when I was at the peak of my career after beating Devon Alexander and all the big names,” said Amir Khan to Ring Magazine’s YouTube channel about Terence Crawford moving up from 154 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his unified super middleweight titles.
“So, I wish him [Crawford] all the best, and I think he can do it. One thing about Terence Crawford is he has a great boxing IQ. His IQ is so perfect that he’ll see everything. You need everything in the game, from the ring IQ to you need movement, you need power, and speed.
“Crawford does hit hard. A lot of people don’t give Crawford the credit for the punch power he has. Crawford does hit hard. I’ve been in the ring with him, and he was hitting me hard,” said Khan.
Chin Check
The problem with Crawford is that he needs to land many shots to score knockouts. We saw that in his ninth-round knockout victory over Errol Spence. For Crawford to be in a position to connect with that many punches against Canelo, he’s going to have to eat some shots that he’s never taken before.
It wouldn’t be good for a 40-ish fighter to be taking those kinds of shots. Terence turns 38 on September 28, and he doesn’t need to be getting nailed by a still-strong Canelo. The Mexican star has lost a lot from his game due to his long career, but his power is still as good as it was during his first two fights with Gennadiy Golovkin.
“Obviously, the more powerful fighter between the two is going to be Canelo, but Crawford has enough power to hurt Canelo and push him back and show him that he’s right in front of him as a challenge,” said Khan.
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