Former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado feels that a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford doesn’t make sense because the Mexican star has no upside. With the limited upside for Canelo, it makes zero sense for him to accommodate Crawford unless he’s just interested in getting paid a boatload of money by the Saudis.
If the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is victorious against the soon-to-be 37-year-old Crawford, he won’t receive credit because he’ll be moving up in weight two divisions after one fight at 154 against Israiel Madrimov.
Crawford won’t have earned his position to challenge Canelo by defeating any of the fighters at 168, so it would be a situation where only he can gain. He’ll get the big payday from fighting Canelo, and if he loses, he’ll have an excuse to tell his followers, blaming it on him not belonging at 168.
If Crawford is even competitive against Canelo, he would come out of the fight looking great, whereas Alvarez’s legacy would be diminished.
Things would be different if Crawford went up to 168 and beat someone like David Benavidez or David Morrell. At least if he beat those guys, Canelo would get credit for defeating Crawford, and if he struggled, he wouldn’t be criticized. However, Crawford has no intention of fighting Benavidez or Morrell. He just wants to skip the line, which puts Canelo in a bad position.
Canelo might choose to accommodate Crawford anyway because the money the Saudis will pay him will be so good that he can overlook potentially losing or not getting credit for winning.
“If you’re in Canelo’s shoes, Crawford has nothing to lose because if he loses, he’s not meant to fight at 168. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain,” said Gabe Rosado to Fight Hub TV about Terence Crawford is in a no-lose situation moving up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship in 2025.
It’s a nightmarish situation for Canelo because he’s not getting anything out of the Crawford fight but money. It’s the same situation Crawford would be in if he fought someone two divisions below him.
If a young phenom from 140 moved up to 154 and fought Crawford, he wouldn’t get credit for beating the fighter, and if he struggled or lost, he’d never hear the end of it.
“It’s his [Crawford] biggest payday, and it gives him the opportunity to fight ‘The Face of Boxing’ Canelo,” said Rosado. “It’s a win-win situation for Crawford. Canelo, on the other hand, if he beats Crawford, ‘Well, you’re supposed to beat Crawford because he’s the smaller guy.’ Then, if you don’t win [you get dumped on by the fans],” said Rosado.
Crawford is the only one who gains in a fight against Canelo, and it’s off-putting that he would be given this opportunity without earning it by fighting at least two of the top guys in the weight class to earn the shot.
“It’s one of those things that I don’t think it makes sense for Canelo. It makes all the sense in the world for Crawford,” said Rosado. “I’d prefer to see Canelo fight the guys at that weight class. Who knows who he’s fighting next? There’s talk of him fighting Berlanga, and then they say Eubank. Eubank is a smaller guy, but he’s beating Eubank easy.”
The only fighter that boxing fans want to see Canelo fight at 168 is David Benavidez, and he’s not a true super middleweight. He’s a younger fighter who can still boil down tremendous amounts of weight to compete in a division below his frame. Benavidez is a true light heavyweight, and Canelo and his manager are well aware of that. It would be like Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol boiling down to fight at 168 and massacring the smaller opposition in that weight class, looking invincible.
That’s what Benavidez does—he makes himself look better than he actually is. He’s a weight bully. He doesn’t want to fight in his natural weight class at 175 because he has no advantages, and his career wouldn’t excel.
“Eubank got knocked out by Liam Smith. Eubank never showed that he can beat world-class guys. He doesn’t fight at that kind of level. It makes sense for Canelo because he always wanted to fight in London. That’s the upside for Canelo, headlining in London. In the Berlanga fight, he’s the favorite, obviously,” said Rosado.
Chris Eubank Jr. has operated at the domestic level through most of his career and only once deviated from that path against George Groves and was schooled. Canelo would easily beat Eubank Jr., but that’s not up for debate. Like Rosado says, the main reason Canelo would fight Eubank Jr. is so that he can fight in London and bask in the limelight.
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