Terence Crawford’s assistant coach, Bernie Davis, says he believes Bud will knock out Canelo Alvarez in a rematch. He sees no point in a second fight because he considers Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) won almost every round, and made it look “effortless” in their September 13 legacy fight in Las Vegas.
The Run-Oriented Style Criticism
Davis doesn’t say how Crawford would score a knockout in a rematch because he didn’t show the kind of power or aggressiveness required to accomplish that. He appeared to be there to win a decision by using his movement. He fought the opposite of how Turki Alalshikh had asked for in the fight. He wanted broken bones, blood, and smashed faces.
The judges didn’t see it that way, scoring it 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112 for Crawford. They saw the fight as close, and one that Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) could have won if he hadn’t faded late. Crawford fought scared through much of the fight, moving and not letting his hands go.
Even in rounds nine through twelve, he only threw punches in brief intervals and would take off like he was on a launching pad headed toward the outer reaches of the solar system.
Crawford made the fight hard to watch, and fans on social media complained about his run-oriented style that he chose to use.
With all the money he was paid by Turki Alalshikh, millions of fans watching on Netflix, and the crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Crawford could have fought more aggressively. There was so much more he could have done and didn’t. He let down all those fans by turning in a Tom and Jerry fight and didn’t show the fire that he needed to.
Davis Predicts Stoppage in Rematch
“I think we could stop him the second time. I think it’ll be worse because I feel a sharp Bud Crawford, I don’t think Canelo can hurt him,” said coach Bernie ‘The Boxer’ Davis to MillCity Boxing about what would play out in a rematch.
I don’t see a scenario where Crawford could knock out Canelo in a rematch. He’s too defensive and unwilling to stand stationary long enough to try for a knockout. Crawford has a rabbit-style of fighting, which is similar to Shakur Stevenson’s, who admires him and has arguably patterned his fighting style after his.
“None of the s*** that he [Canelo] was doing worked. He thought Crawford was going to run like William Scull. He thought Crawford couldn’t hurt him. I don’t see any calls for a rematch because Bud handled him,” said Davis.
A Way to Diminish Bud
Interestingly, Bernie denied that Canelo has taken a lot of punishment during his career. He points out that he’s only fought twice a year, and he feels he still has all his skills intact at 35. Davis states that people who say that Alvarez has lost something from his game take away from the credit Crawford should be getting for his victory. “That’s a way to diminish Bud,” said Bernie. Canelo hasn’t looked like the same fighter he once was since his clash against Dmitry Bivol on May 7, 2022.
It’s unclear if Davis has been following Canelo’s career closely, because he looks nothing like the fighter who fought Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and 2018. I believe he’s fighting at a lower level than he did earlier in his career. And, yes, Canelo has taken a lot of punishment.
Davis is completely off with his belief that Alvarez hasn’t taken punishment. His fights against Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol, Edgar Berlanga, Miguel Cotto, and Callum Smith all involved him taking huge punches.
In contrast, Crawford hasn’t taken punishment like that because he’s fought lesser punchers at 135, 140, 147, and briefly at 154, and he’s been a mover.
Last Updated on 09/21/2025
Read the full article here