Shawn Porter has concerns about Terence Crawford’s ability to absorb Canelo Alvarez’s power punches during a full twelve-round fight in the 168-lb division next year if the match happens.
Crawford’s Upcoming Test: Madrimov as a Canelo Stand-In
Saturday’s fight between Crawford and WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov is seen as a trial run for Terence against a fighter with a similar physical build as Canelo.
Madrimov’s punching power is close to Canelo’s, if not better. If Crawford can take his shots without imploding, there’s a chance he’ll hold up next year when he faces Canelo.
The main difference is Canelo has better hand speed, loads up a lot more, and he would be walking Crawford down the entire fight. Madrimov mostly throws haymakers and isn’t going to apply constant pressure on Crawford like Canelo will.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has shown an ability to take the power punches from hard-hitting 147-pounders like Errol Spence and David Avanesyan without getting hurt, but it’s going to be harder to take shots from a powerful guy like Canelo.
“I am concerned about him absorbing a Canelo punch, especially over the course of twelve rounds,” said Shawn Porter to Fight Hub TV, talking about his worries for Terence Crawford once he’s hit hard by unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in a potential fight in 2025.
If Crawford chooses to box and move, he could avoid getting hit by many of Canelo’s hard punches. The fight would be boring and disappointing for fans, but if all Crawford cares about is winning a decision, it would be worth it to him.
Historical Precedent: Sugar Ray Leonard’s Strategy
Sugar Ray Leonard played it safe when he fought WBC middleweight champion Marvin Hagler, winning a dull twelve-round split decision in April 1987. Fans praised him due to his weight jump from 147 to 160.
Leonard fought in spurts, throwing shoeshine punches with little power, and the crowd ate it up. Hagler landed the more significant blows throughout the fight, but two judges gave him no credit.
The fans didn’t care that it wasn’t a thrilling fight. They thought it was great what Leonard had accomplished, even though it was a controversial decision and not action-packed. Crawford could do the same; the fans would give him credit, and Canelo’s legacy would suffer.
“We do know this about Canelo; he’s going to slow down,” continued Porter about a potential fight between Canelo and Crawford. “So, I think, if anything, Canelo will try to start fast and bang on him and break him down before it gets later and he gets that kind of steam.”
Canelo always starts fast, but he’s still dangerous, even in the later rounds. It would be great for Crawford if he went to war with Canelo rather than following the Mayweather blueprint by playing it safe, but he’s not someone who does that unless he’s certain he won’t get hurt.
“There are so many components that make a champion and so many components that make a great legend,” said Porter. “There’s so much to go into. It’s a conversation that lasts an hour easily.
“We talk about all the components that Terence Crawford has. All of the components that Canelo has, and how we find how they even out and who trumps one another. Do you know what I mean? We tried to do that with Errol Spence and Terence Crawford, and we saw how that panned out,” said Porter.
Spence looked physically gone last year when he fought Crawford. You could tell from looking at Spence that his sedentary lifestyle in between fights, weight gain, inactivity, and the two car crashes had sapped everything out of him.
Canelo, 34, still has skills, but they’ve eroded as well. However, his power and boxing IQ are still present. If Crawford gets hit by Canelo, he could be in bad shape. Crawford says he spars with bigger fighters, but he doesn’t mention who they are.
It’s unlikely that any of them are on the level of a Canelo, which means his sparring doesn’t mean he can take the Mexican star’s shots. If this fight is just a hustle for Crawford to get a retirement payday, it doesn’t matter if he loses. He’ll have gotten his golden parachute and can call it a day afterward.
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