Matchroom head honcho Eddie Hearn has labeled the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford bout as a “freak fight,” viewing it as just for “a lot of money” when they potentially meet in September.
Hearn says that Crawford, 37, doesn’t need to prove himself at 168 first because he’s just going up for one “money” fight against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs).
Crawford Skips The Line
In other words, it’s okay for Crawford to skip the line in front of the contenders who have been working hard for the opportunity to challenge for a world title. Is it fair? Nope.
It’s entirely 100% unfair, and it’s troubling that another 154-pounder is getting the opportunity to move up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for his titles rather than one of the more deserving contenders.
Boxing Needs a Commissioner
As Tim Bradley says, boxing needs a commissioner to oversee the sport to create rules against line-cutters getting unearned opportunities to challenge for world titles in weight classes they’ve never competed in.
If there was a commissioner in charge of the sport, they wouldn’t allow Crawford to move up to 168 to fight for world titles unless he earned it by beating the top contenders in front of him.
Hearn’s Defends “Freak Fight”
“No, because it’s a freak fight. His career is not heading towards 168 lbs. It’s a one-off freak fight for a lot of money. That’s what it is,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype when asked to respond to critics who say Terence Crawford should test himself against one of the top super middleweight first before challenging Canelo Alvarez for his three titles at 168.
“After that fight, he’s probably going to move back down to 154. Don’t forget, believe he struggled a bit against [Israil] Madrimov. He struggled because Madrimov is a good fighter. He’s [Crawford] not a big 154-pounder, and don’t forget. He came up from 147, and before that he was at 140. Before that, he was at 135.
“To move from 135 to 168 and win the unified world title. That would go down as one of the greatest victories of all time, but you know Bud. He’s up for the challenge. I think it makes him the best fighter of our generation if he moves up and beats Canelo Alvarez at 168.
I disagree with Hearn about Crawford not needing to earn the fight against Canelo by fighting at 168 first. He should have to earn it because how is this fair to contenders like Christian Mbilli, Diego Pacheco, and Caleb Plant?
It makes a joke of the sport to see this line jumping going on. It’s difficult to see boxing as an actual sport when you see fighters being permitted to move up two weight classes and immediately be given a world title shot.
Crawford’s Resume
“He’s a four-division world champion,” Hearn said about Crawford. “He’s an undisputed at 140 and 147. I think his wins at 140 weren’t as strong as. I mean, he beat everybody he had to. The Errol Spence victory obviously. Then, moving to 154. Madrimov is a very good fighter. You can always question people’s resumes, but Terence, for sure, is one of the greatest fighters of all time.”
Crawford’s resume at 147 and 140 was weak as water, consisting wins this lackluster bunch:
Errol Spence
Jose Benavidez Jr.
David Avanesyan
Jeff Horn
Shawn Porter
Kell Brook
Amir Khan
Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Julius Indongo
Felix Diaz
John Molina Jr.
Viktor Postol
Henry Lundy
Derry Jean
Thomas Dulorme
Porter, Brook, Khan, and Spence were all over the hill by the time Crawford fought them. They were nowhere near what they’d been during the prime of their careers. The only one at the elite level of that group was Spence, and he wasn’t the same fighter after 2018.
That was the last year of the vintage, prime version of Spence. Crawford got the ruined version of Spence after his car crash, two years out of the ring, and weight drained.
“He [Turki Al-Sheikh] has a very high success rate. So, you have to think there’s a very good chance that fight [Canelo vs. Crawford] is going to happen. I think it’s a very intriguing fight between two generational greats. I think it’s very difficult for Bud to move up that high in weight, but if anyone can do it, it might be him,” said Hearn.
Canelo Too Much At 168
Crawford can’t move up 14 lbs from 154 to defeat Canelo at 168. It’s not going to happen. Crawford will be 38 in September, and he’s NOT Floyd Mayweather Jr, and even if he were, he would still be out of his league because Canelo is no longer 22 years old and will not be weight-drained fighting at 152. That’s how old Canelo was when Mayweather fought him at a catch-weight of 152.
“His movement and IQ is second to none, but it’s difficult when you’re facing Canelo Alvarez up there. It’s not just 168. On the night, it’s probably 180, 185. It’s going to be a big task,” said Hearn about what Crawford is up against.
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