Shakur Stevenson says he’s been believing that Terence Crawford had the style to beat Canelo Alvarez even before Dmitry Bivol did it several years ago. Stevenson says he watched Crawford hurt heavyweights, and he doesn’t believe Canelo can walk forward against him with his power.
Stevenson says he started believing Crawford would beat Canelo in 2021 when he fought welterweight Shakur Porter. He felt that the then 34-year-old Porter was a good gauge for predicting Crawford’s performance three divisions above at 168.
Loyalty vs. Logic
Crawford, 37, will challenge Canelo for his belts at 168 on September 13th. Despite the two division move up in weight, Shakur doesn’t see it as a problem that Terence. He says he’s believed Crawford was the best fighter at super middleweight for many years.
The WBC lightweight champion Stevenson said that it won’t matter that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is moving up two divisions from 154 to 168 to challenge unified champion Canelo (62-2-2, 38 KO).
“I’ve been putting it out since Crawford fought Shawn Porter [2021 at welterweight]. I said that Terence Crawford would beat Canelo Alvarez right after he fought [34-year-old] Shawn Porter,” said Shakur Stevenson to Ring Magazine, revealing that he’d predicted four years ago that Terence Crawford would beat Canelo.
It’s reasonable to assume that Shakur’s views on the Canelo-Crawford fight are influenced by his close friendship with Bud, and his loyalty to him. That’s a natural thing. He obviously wants to see Crawford getting this opportunity given to him without earning it the way other fighters have to.
The Heavyweight Claim
“I felt in that weight class [168], Terence Crawford is the greatest,” said Shakur about how he’s felt that Crawford is the best at super middleweight without ever fighting there. “I just feel that with Canelo’s style, and this is before [Dmitry] Bivol did it. I felt that Terence Crawford was the only guy that could beat Canelo with his style.
“I’ve been saying it, even before Bud was saying it. Bud is a southpaw. Him being a southpaw makes it harder for Canelo,” Shakur continued praising Crawford. “He has problems with them after I watched him fight John Ryder. He wasn’t that good. It’s just that Canelo was fighting against a southpaw.
“How does Canelo handle the power of Bud? When Bud hits him, is he just going to walk forward and just take the punches? I just don’t know. I seen Bud hurt heavyweights,” said Shakur.
If Shakur believes Crawford has been the best fighter at 168 for years, why hasn’t he moved up to test himself? He could have done that years ago, and made a lot more money than he has at welterweight. The only big money fight Crawford has had at 147 is Errol Spence. If he could beat ALL the super middleweights years, as Shakur maintains, why didn’t he do it?
Crawford couldn’t hurt Israil Madrimov with his punches in his last fight at 154, and he’s nowhere close to being a heavyweight. If he had the kind of power to hurt heavyweights, he should have shown that against Madrimov.
Last Updated on 03/14/2025
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