David Benavidez believes that Terence Crawford is pushing the limits by moving up three weight classes to fight Canelo Alvarez for his four super middleweight titles this Saturday, September 13.
Dangers of Weight Class Leaps
The WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez says he knows Crawford has excellent skills, but feels that the jump up three divisions might be too much.
Benavidez says it would be the same thing if he chose to move up to heavyweight to take on Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. He believes he might win, but if they hit him, it could be bad for him.
“Because Crawford is coming up three weight classes. I’m not saying he can’t hurt him, but three weight classes is different,” said David Benavidez to Ring Magazine about why he believes Canelo Alvarez will defeat Terence Crawford on Saturday.
It would have made more sense for Crawford to stop at 160 and take a couple of fights against top fighters in that weight class first. If he did well in that division, then go up to 168 to take a couple of fights before fighting Canelo.
That would be impossible, though. Crawford fights just once a year. So, it could take him four years to get those four fights in. By then, Canelo will have likely retired, and he’d be too old anyway to do much against anyone.
“You never want to count Terence Crawford out, but there are weight classes for a reason,” said Benavidez.
‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez makes a good point. The weight classes are in place to protect fighters, not to prevent them from earning money fighting more popular fighters. Going up three divisions could be asking for trouble.
Money Over Legacy?
Crawford is going well above the division he enjoyed his best success at, welterweight, and it’s hard to buy into his rationale for moving up three weight classes.
Terence says he’s going for legacy purposes. I believe Crawford’s total focus is on the money that he’s getting, because he never showed any ambition to move up to 168 when Benavidez and David Morrell held titles. Crawford didn’t start showing interest in moving up until Canelo was the one holding the belts.
“They got me as the underdog. It don’t matter to me. We got to go out there and perform,” said Crawford to Ring Magazine when asked if it bothers him that he’s the underdog against Canelo. “I’m going to go out there and win regardless.”
It’s true that Crawford and Canelo still need to fight to determine who the better man is on Saturday. But it should still concern Crawford in the back of his mind that the oddsmakers doubt his chances of winning, likely viewing his last performance against Israil Madrimov and using that as a gauge in their picks.
The Point of Diminishing Returns
Crawford has done remarkably well moving up three divisions since starting his career at lightweight in 2007. But there is a point of diminishing returns where even a great like Crawford will find that he’s hit a point where it’s too much weight. He wasn’t cut out to compete in such and such a division. 168 might be that point.
“It’s definitely something that drives me,” said Crawford about being the underdog. “At all,” said Terence when told that he doesn’t want people saying Canelo was over-the-hill after he beats him. “Come Saturday, we’re going to have fireworks.”
The way Canelo has performed in his last three fights, it’s impossible not to conclude that he’s over the hill. He hasn’t lost those three fights, but he wasn’t facing high-level fighters. His last three fights were against William Scull, Edgar Berlanga, and Jaime Munguia. If Canelo had fought these super middleweights, there’s a good chance he’d have lost:
- Diego Pacheco
- Osleys Iglesias
- Christian Mbilli
- Hamzah Sheeraz
Why Crawford’s Win May Be Discredited
If Crawford does win on Saturday, there will still be many fans who will discredit his victory, saying that Canelo is a faded force from 20 years as a pro. They would be correct. He’s not the fighter that he once was four years ago when he beat Caleb Plant to become undisputed 168-lb champion the first time on November 6, 2021.
Last Updated on 09/10/2025
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