David Benavidez and Abel Sanchez Say Terence Crawford’s Decision to Skip Tune-Ups at 168 Pounds Makes Defeating Canelo Alvarez Nearly Impossible

David Benavidez and trainer Abel Sanchez believe that Terence Crawford made a mistake by not moving up to 168 to take tune-up fights before challenging Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13, 2025, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Sanchez says Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) did the “worst thing he could have done” by bulking up to the 190s and not taking several fights at super middleweight. WBC light heavyweight champion Benavidez states that Crawford is walking into a “buzzsaw” by fighting Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) without any experience at 168.

Size and Power Concerns

“To beat Canelo, you have to be able to take a shot, and to press him to make sure you keep him busy and backing up,” said trainer Abel Sanchez to Fighthype when asked what Terence Crawford must do to defeat Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.

Madrimov Fight an Eye-Opener

Crawford couldn’t do that in his last fight against Israil Madrimov at 154 last year on August 3, 2024. ‘Little GGG,’ as some fans call Madrimov, isn’t as powerful or as aggressive as Canelo. Madrimov was backing up Crawford throughout the fight, and he absorbed a lot of punishment. It was an eye-opener seeing Crawford get handled for the first time and marked up around both eyes. He’d hit his ceiling of what he was capable of doing in his move up to 154.

Canelo had Madrimov winning that fight. “For me, I think that he [Crawford] lost the fight or [it was a] draw, or it could be the other side. He knows why weight classes are there 1756251688,” said Canelo to DAZN shortly after the fight.

“If you can’t push him back and be more effective with punches than he is, then you’re not going to beat him,” said Sanchez about Canelo. “Guys like Bivol who were able to press him, be stronger than him, and keep activity on him, those are the kinds of guys that are going to beat him.”

The only two fighters that were able to push Canelo back consistently were Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitry Bivol. They possessed the punching power to force Canelo back. Crawford is not that kind of a puncher. Even with the weight Terence has put on, his power isn’t expected to be on the level of GGG. Bud is bigger than Golovkin now, but it remains to be seen if he’ll have that kind of pop in his shots.

Tune-Up Fights Were Needed

“Terence, I don’t care if he goes up to 200 lbs; he doesn’t have that in time to do that. If he had fought three or four guys already at that weight and built up his work ethic and his strength by competing and beating guys at that weight [super middleweight], then I could see it,” said Sanchez.

WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez expresses the same thoughts as Abel about Crawford making a mistake of not getting his feet wet first at 168 by fighting tune-ups before facing Canelo for his undisputed championship.

Benavidez Warns of ‘Buzzsaw’

“Weight classes are there for a reason. Crawford struggled with [Israil] Madrimov’s size and power at 154. Jumping straight to 168 against Canelo, who’s been comfortable there for years, is a huge risk. He needs a fight to feel out that weight, or he’s walking into a buzzsaw,” said Benavidez to Reddit about Crawford.

Terence struggled badly in his move up to 154 in his last fight, taking on WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024. Crawford’s punches didn’t appear as powerful in this weight class as they had at 147.

The shots that Madrimov landed were snapping Crawford’s head back all night and marking him up. Crawford got a 12-round decision, but it was close on two of the scorecards. The scores were 115-113, 116-112, and 115-113. Fans on social media noted that Crawford didn’t look like the same fighter at 154 against Madrimov as he had in his two previous fights at 147 against Errol Spence and Shawn Porter.

Sanchez’s ‘Worst Thing’ Critique

“He’s ballooned up to whatever he is, which in my opinion is the worst thing he could have done. I would have kept him at 170 lbs, the weight he’s going to fight at,” said Abel about Crawford. “That way, he wouldn’t have to lose nothing. He could be as strong as he could be at that weight instead of what I understand, he’s in the 190s. If he is in the 190s, he’s going to have to drop down to the high 160s. That doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Sanchez.

The recent reports are that Crawford’s weight is in the mid-180s. That’s not far off from the 190s that Abel is talking about here. It’s a lot of weight for an older fighter like the 37-year-old Crawford to have packed on for his fight against Canelo.

The idea is that Crawford will drop down to 168 pounds the week of the fight and then rehydrate into the 180s to have the size to compete against Alvarez. Crawford’s speed and mobility are two things that have helped him navigate his 41-fight career without losing.

If he slows down or can’t move as well as before, his chances of defeating Canelo diminish. This is Canelo’s weight class, and he’s fought much naturally bigger fighters than Bud.