The Key to a Terence Crawford Victory Over Canelo: Trainer Ronnie Shields Says “Engage Smartly” and Use Speed

Trainer Ronnie Shields says Terence Crawford is going to have to “engage” with Canelo Alvarez and do more than he otherwise would do for him to have a shot at winning a decision. He believes that if the rounds are close, Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) will be given them by the judges based on his popularity.

“You got to make Canelo miss and counter him. Crawford has all the ability to do that,” said trainer Ronnie Shields to Fighthype. “He’s [Canelo] is an older fighter. You’re never going to be the same as 10 years ago as today.”

Terence’s Crucial Engagement Plan

Crawford’s counter ability, hand speed, size, or power isn’t as good as Canelo’s last opponent, William Scull. That guy was on another level than Crawford. Canelo handled him by walking him down and landing his much harder shots. Scull didn’t like the feel of those shots. So, he made sure he stayed on the run all night.

“He has to engage with him, but he has to do it smartly,” said Ronnie about Crawford. “You can’t go in there thinking, ‘I’m going to overpower Canelo Alvarez,’ because that’s not going to happen. He’s going to have to use his speed and his defense. That’s going to be the key.”

Still, Crawford is going to have to show more offense against Canelo than he did in his last fight against Israil Madrimov in 2024. The rounds were very close in that fight, with the output nearly the same, but Madrimov’s shots were always harder and cleaner. The judges helped the A-side Crawford out in that fight because he could have lost. They might not do the same for him against Canelo because he’s now the B-side fighting the legend.

The Need for More Offense

“Crawford has to be more intelligent and take all the advantages he can because he’s got to realize that he’s fighting Canelo Alvarez,” said Shields. “You’re not going to get anything close. So, he has to do more than Canelo to win the rounds.”

To get the win, Crawford is going to need to throw more power punches in this fight, and not depend on jabbing to win rounds. We’ve seen Canelo win rounds in many of his fights where he only connects with three or four hard punches. The judges still give him the rounds due to his bigger shots.  So, Crawford will have to trade more in this fight than he did last year against Madrimov. If he plays it safe, he’ll lose.

“Canelo has been in the tougher fights than Crawford, but Crawford lives a fighter’s life. You can see the experience that he has that when he’s in the ring, he’s very intelligent. I think that’s going to go a long way in this fight,” said Shields.

It would have been better if Crawford had some good experience, but Turki Alalshikh didn’t want to put his feet to the fire and make him prove himself against David Benavidez, David Morrell, or Diego Pacheco. All those years Crawford fought at 135, 140 and 147, he never fought great opposition. His being a counter-puncher, southpaw, and a mover made him someone to avoid.