Roy Jones Jr. says Terence Crawford can’t afford to run against Canelo Alvarez because that’ll give him the confidence to chase him down to get the victory on September 13th.
Jones Jr. wants Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to stand and fight undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) from round one to show his strength. Roy isn’t saying what the plan B is for Crawford if he can’t handle Canelo’s power.
Why Running is “Stupid”
“You’re totally wrong. First thing is, how are you going to move and run from Canelo? You’re going to give him everything he wants. That’s stupid,” said Roy Jones Jr. to Secondsout when asked if Terence Crawford should use movement to elude Canelo Alvarez all night on September 13th.
Spence Fight Anomaly
Crawford is going to move because he’s done that throughout his career. The only fight he didn’t run was when he fought the car crash-wrecked, weight-drained, inactive Errol Spence Jr. in 2023. Against him, Crawford didn’t have to because Spence looked like a drained, slow, half-dazed zombie that night.
Terence can’t do that against Canelo because he won’t be the equivalent of a ghoul that night. He’s going to be powerful, alert, and will be looking to punch holes through Crawford.
“If you run from a big man, you give him all the confidence that he wants. ‘Oh, all I got to do is catch him. He’s running now. He don’t want to fight. All I got to do is catch him.’ No, you don’t go there with that mentality. Had I went in there with that mentality against John Ruiz, he would have beat me,” said Jones Jr.
There’s a big difference between what Roy Jones Jr. did fighting the then-WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz in 2003 and Crawford moving up essentially three weight classes to challenge the powerful Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight championship.
Ruiz wasn’t a puncher; he was a clincher, and he was viewed as the weakest link among the champions at the time. Roy Jr. knew what he was doing, selecting him rather than the other three champions. That was a cherry pick on his part.
Early Rounds Crucial
“Listen, I’m coming here. I’m going to tip the scale as a heavyweight, and I’m going to make you feel I’m a heavyweight in the first round. Bud has got to do the same thing,” said Jones Jr.
Well, would Jones Jr. have chosen to mix it up early if he took on these two heavyweights at the time in 2003:
– Lennox Lewis: WBC
– Corrie Sanders: WBO
If Roy had fought them aggressively in the first round, he’d have been knocked out. So, giving Crawford advice that he wouldn’t have followed in his own career is useless. Jones Jr. would have never fought like that if he’d fought the best rather than the weakest link.
“He’s got to tip the scale at 168 pounds, and he’s got to make you feel he’s a 168-pounder when he hits the ring. If you don’t do that in the early part, now you’re going to have a problem,” said Jones Jr.
Turki Alalshikh’s Expectations
It would be great if Crawford chooses to brawl with Canelo from round one, because he’s being paid a lot of money by Turki Alalshikh, reportedly $50 million. It would put a smile on Turki’s face if Crawford engages rather than runs, like he did in his last fight against Israil Madrimov. That was a boring chess match.
Last Updated on 07/03/2025
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