Age, Ring Rust, and Canelo’s Power: An Obstacle for Crawford’s Two-Weight Class Jump

Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, says he’s more determined to prepare Crawford for his fight with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez now that fans are doubting his fighter. McIntryre notes that fans are skeptical about Terence’s chances of winning because he’s moving up two weight classes from 154 to 168 to challenge Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) for his four titles on September 12th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Crawford’s Age Factor

Why There are Doubts about Terence

1. Age: Crawford will be close to 38 by the time he fights Canelo. His birthday is on September 28th. He already looked old and weak in his previous fight against Israil Madrimov. The physical decline in Crawford was visible in that fight, and he appeared to lose but was given a questionable decision.
2. Inactivity: It’ll have been 13 months since Terence last fought when he steps inside the ring against Alvarez. Before that, Crawford had been inactive for 13 months and looked rusty and slow in his debut at 154.
3. Perception of fighting for money: People believe that Bud Crawford’s main motivation for fighting Canelo is for the $100 million that he’s getting for this fight. They point out that he’s not shown any ambition to move up to 168 and walk the plank against the lethal apex predators, David Benavidez, David Morrell, and Osleys Iglesias to show that his focus is on true competition.
4. Alvarez’s power: Canelo’s power is still formidable despite him slowing down with age. The shots he landed on his last two opponents, William Scull and Edgar Berlanga, would punch holes through Crawford’s fragile, bird-like frame. He’s not designed to be hit by the rugged, truck-like Canelo.

“We’re not looking for a knockout. We’re going in there to try and box because that’s the name of the game. But if the knockout comes, we’re going to be in shape to get it,” said trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre to MillCity Boxing about whether Terence Crawford can knockout Canelo Alvarez on September 12.

BoMac is letting the cat out of the bag here by revealing that Bud is coming to “box” Canelo instead of trying to score a knockout. He’d already said in other interviews that he’s studying Canelo’s losses to Dmitry Bivol and Floyd Mayweather Jr., and that they would use those two as the blueprint to use against the Mexican star.

“The first big fight we had [against car crash-wrecked Errol Spence], they doubted us, and we got the job done. Now, we’re going to step up two weight classes, and they’re saying, ‘That’s the stupidest thing to do.’ Obviously, we believe in ourselves because we’re going up for that challenge. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t do it. When people tell me that we can’t do the job, that just makes me work more harder.”

Boxing’s Fake Era

What is BoMac talking about? Of course, Crawford would still fight Canelo even if he didn’t think he could win. The inactive old lion is being paid $100 million to fight the Mexican star after a year out of the ring and a controversial decision against Israil Madrimov. This is ALL about money. If this weren’t about the green stuff, Crawford would have already moved up to 168 and gone up against the walking guillotine, David Benavidez, to earn the title shot against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo the traditional way. That’s what Turki Alalshikh should be making Crawford do instead of just giving him the fight.

The winning part is Crawford being given the fight against Canelo in the first place, because he doesn’t deserve it. This is just another one of the circus fights we’re seeing, with boxing being transformed into a fake sport.