Canelo vs. Crawford: Will “Magic Elixir” of Size Fail Terence as Fans Note Decreased Speed & Movement?

Video of Terence Crawford training shows that he’s beginning to look slow and fleshy with the weight that he’s packed on to prepare for his two-division weight jump to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship in 54 days on September 13th.

Slowed Speed for Canelo?

Fans have raised concerns that Terence, 37, has put on too much weight in a short period. The observers note that Crawford has lost much of the speed and mobility he had in the lower weight classes from 135 to 147. It may have been better for Crawford to stay lighter, allowing him to use speed to defeat Canelo rather than trying to match him in size.

The movement and the speed of the former four-division world champion Crawford look noticeably slower due to the increased weight. He’s gained too much weight in too short a time for his slender build.

Bud’s Heavy Burden

Fighters with larger frames can add weight without it affecting their speed, but those with thin, bird-like frames tend to do poorly when putting on weight. It’s too late now for Terence. He and his trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, have chosen to pack on size, hoping that’ll be the key to defeating the golden star, Canelo Alvarez, on September 13th.

Team Crawford believes that adding size will be the magic elixir needed to defeat Canelo. He obviously could use the Fountain of Youth to have a better shot at beating the Mexican superstar Alvarez, but bulking isn’t the answer.

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is moving up two weight classes in a single training camp, which is impossible to do in this era of the sport unless the fighter selected is a paper champion with limited ability.

Is Crawford Done?

Terence has gone from 155 to 186, eating a lot, and focusing on resistance training. The 37-year-old Omaha, Nebraska, native, Bud Crawford, only recently moved up to junior middleweight to fight Israil Madrimov last August and had massive problems.

That fight showed that Crawford wouldn’t be able to do what he’d done at 147, as these fighters have the size, power, and better skills. Terence had been feasting on B-level fighters, like Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Jeff Horn, David Avanesyan, and Jose Benavidez Jr.