Commentator Tim Bradley believes Terence Crawford will be victorious against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Bradley thinks Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) can outbox Canelo just like Floyd Mayweather Jr. did 11 years ago when he defeated the Mexican star when he was 22–years old, fighting at a catchweight in 2013.
Financial Motivation and Risk Aversion
Crawford is about to turn 37, has never fought above 147, and would be coming up in weight without being tested at 168 by the top contenders.
More fans would agree with Bradley if Crawford were interested in providing himself at 160 against the killers and at 168 to show that he can hang.
The fans perceive Crawford as in a hurry to get a huge payday against Canelo and a golden parachute so that he can live in luxury in his retirement years.
You can’t knock Crawford for wanting a fight against Canelo without proving himself because something could go wrong if he had to run the gauntlet through these killers to earn the fight the way normal contenders do: David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli, Caleb Plant, David Morrell Jr. or Diego Pacheco.
Is it asking too much for Crawford to fight Benavidez first to prove himself before getting the Canelo fight? His Excellency should tell Crawford that if he wants Canelo, he’s got to go through Benafvidez first and then Morrell Jr. to show that he’s for real.
Crawford’s Potential to Emulate Mayweather
“This is the problem the fact that he fought against [Jermell] Charlo. Charlo comes in at 154,” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype, reacting to Canelo Alvarez saying he’s not interested in fighting welterweight Terence Crawford because there’s nothing to gain from fighting him.
“He [Jermell] moved up a couple of weight divisions to fight Canelo. He got in there and laid an egg. He just basically went in there and survived. ‘I’m not on Canelo’s level, but the difference is the mentality of Crawford. He’s a top pound-for-pound guy,” said Bradley.
We don’t know if Crawford will be any different from Jermell Charlo because he’s not volunteering to test himself against some of the top super middleweights to give fans a reference point.
If Crawford chose to prove himself against David Benavidez or David Morrell, you could feel confident that he just showed up for the payday against Canelo without trying to win. Since Crawford has no intention of fighting anyone at 168 before fighting Canelo, you can only conclude this is about money and nothing else.
“Charlo was never a top pound-for-pound guy. The skills-set of Crawford is what he brings,” said Bradley. “He’s a competitor, and he’s been after Canelo. He wants to fight Canelo, and I think he’ll do well against Canelo, I really do.”
The pound-for-pound ratings that Crawford has been given is based on him beating lesser fighters for the most part. He’d never fought anyone elite until his last fight when he defeated Errol Spence, who was coming off a long 14-mont layoff, weight gain, and hadn’t looked the same since his car crash in 2019.
“Now, am I nervous about the fight if they fight? Hell, yeah, because Canelo can punch. That dude can punch, and all it takes is one. He hits a guy like Terence one time, who’s coming up three weight classes to be able to face him. However, just like we saw with Floyd [Mayweather]. He was able to outbox him [in 2013 when Canelo was 22 years old] and was able to outthink him.”
Crawford ain’t Mayweather 2.0 or nowhere close. Floyd had been tested against the best his entire career. He didn’t wait until he was 36 before facing his first elite opponent like Crawford did.
Bradley uses Mayweather as an example to justify his argument that Crawford can give up huge size against Canelo and beat him, but he doesn’t hold water. Canelo fought welterweight Mayweather at 154.
It wasn’t a situation where Mayweather moved up to 168, and fought a prime version of Canelo, who was at full strength.
Canelo’s Power vs. Crawford’s Skill
“I think Crawford has that ability to outbox him, outthink him, make him miss, make him pay,” said Bradley. “As long as he’s not catching too many of them and using his legs and his athleticism, and his defense to get out of the way, he should be able to beat Canelo.
“Slow, plodding forward. He’s [Canelo] got a good jab, good quickness and throws a lot of hooks. Crawford just get away from all of those and get underneath them. He should be able to beat Canelo.
“We’re basing it on what Charlo was able to do. Charlo didn’t do nothing. He was scared. He didn’t want to get knocked out. I don’t blame him. He didn’t want to end up on a poster. I understand that, but you said you wanted to be great. You weren’t great that night. Crawford is daring to be great, and I think he can do it,” said Bradley.
The reason why Canelo and old school fans aren’t interested in seeing Crawford get a fight against the Mexican star is that has cash-grab, celebrity-esque, circus-level fight written all over it.
When you talk about a fighter moving up three-weight classes to fight for the undisputed championship without even touching the 160 or 168-lb divisions, it’s wrong and sends a bad message to fans and the contenders.
Crawford shouldn’t be able to skip the line ahead of the contenders at 168, who have never gotten a chance to fight Canelo. What about Benavidez and Morrell? Those should have gotten a fight against Canelo, not a fighter that has never competed at 168 or 160, and who has a resume with one decent name on it, the car crash wrecked Spence.
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