Can Crawford’s Power and Style Lead to Canelo Quitting? Frank Stea Believes It’s Possible

Tim Bradley says Terence Crawford has the style to exploit Canelo Alvarez’s weakness, dealing with elusive movers. Bradley points out that Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) couldn’t catch up to the “chicken” William Scull in their fight on May 3rd. He says Canelo couldn’t handle the movement Scull used; he won’t be able to do it against Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) either.

Crawford’s Movement

Crawford doesn’t move as much as he used to in 2016 and earlier. His aging, weight gain, and activity have robbed him of his leg speed. Bud, 37, can still shuffle around the ring a little, but he’s nowhere near as mobile as the quick-footed Scull. Canelo cut off the ring and got to the Cuban Scull often enough to win a 12-round decision.

We don’t know what Crawford has got left because he’ll have slipped a notch from what he showed in his last fight against Israil Madrimov last August. In that fight, Crawford looked like one of the division’s regular contenders, not championship-level. Madrimov came close to beating Terence.

“I’m just saying that Canelo couldn’t catch that chicken [William Scull] that he was up against. How the hell do you think he’s going to catch Crawford?” said Tim Bradley to K.O. Artist Sports, picking Terence Crawford to defeat Canelo Alvarez on September 12th. “He’s one of the best and the most skillful fighters in the game.”

With all the weight that Crawford has packed on for this fight, he’s not going to be moving around a lot. Even when he was younger, he never moved as well as Scull. The Cuban was on another level than Crawford with his ability to get around the ring. Scull also has faster hand speed than Terence does now. Some of those counters that William hit Canelo with were blindingly fast. Mexican star never saw many of them coming.

Quit Potential

“This is Bud’s time to cement himself. I like Crawford by stoppage. I think he has the ability to overwhelm Canelo, and make him quit, maybe in the corner, or maybe even stop him, maybe even shock us,” said Top Rank gym manager Frank Stea to Pro Boxing Fans.

For Crawford to have a shot at making Canelo quit, he’d have to abandon his normal fighting style and go all out, throwing a lot of punches. That would be dangerous for Crawford to do. He’s not been hit by a fighter with Canelo’s power, and he’d be loading up on his shots to make them even more devastating.

“It would be a shocker if he knocks Canelo out. But I think it’s a possibility. Ultimately, Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford by unanimous decision. I think it’s going to be a much easier fight than people think.”