Former trainer Teddy Atlas says he has confidence in Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, that he’ll be ready with a “good plan” to defeat Canelo Alvarez this Saturday, September 13. Atlas points out that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) doesn’t have a lot of miles on “the odometer” after 17 years as a pro. He believes this will play in his favor, along with his mobility and outside game.
“He’s got good people with him, BoMac and the other guys. They do a good job, and they always have a good plan,” said former trainer Teddy Atlas on his YouTube channel when asked about Terence Crawford’s year of inactivity going into this Saturday’s fight against Canelo Alvarez. “I would think they gave him [Crawford] enough time to get comfortable with the weight.”
Inactivity: A Non-Issue?
Atlas didn’t touch on the original question put to him when asked how Crawford’s inactivity would affect him in this fight. He’s been out of the ring for 13 months since August 3, 2024, and he didn’t look impressive in that fight against Israil Madrimov. Crawford has fought only five times in the last four years against these fighters:
- Israil Madrimov: August 2024
- Errol Spence: July 2023
- David Avanesyan: December 2022
- Shawn Porter: November 2021
- Kell Brook: November 2020
“Did he have enough time to adapt to that size?” said Atlas, continuing on Crawford’s weight rather than the original question asked of him about his 13 months of inactivity. “I have confidence that they didn’t make a mistake. He doesn’t have a lot of miles on the odometer, Crawford. I’m looking for Crawford to win the outside.”
How Crawford does with the added weight and the two-division jump from 154 to 168 is the big question. Given his history of having excellent stamina in fights, it’s unlikely that he’ll gas out against Canelo. One thing that plays in Crawford’s favor is the slow pace at which Canelo tends to fight. Crawford won’t be under withering fire like he would if he fought someone like Christian Mbilli or Osley Iglesias at super middleweight.
Those two are arguably the best at 168, and Crawford would be under constant bombardment going up against either. Winning by just jabbing and moving wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to actually fight them to survive. With Canelo, it’s different. He fights at a snail’s pace at this stage of his career, just looking to land big shots and control the rounds with his power.
“He’s not going to run. Use his legs, get angles, and control space. Don’t allow Canelo to freely walk in. Canelo’s feet aren’t that fast. Why did he lose to Mayweather a long time ago [September 14, 2013]. His feet were too slow. He couldn’t close the gaps fast enough,” said Atlas.
A Mayweather-Style Victory
The money that Turki Alalshikh is paying Crawford, he’s not going to want to see him moving around the ring, mimicking how Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought Canelo twelve years ago in 2013. That was a boring fight marked by a lot of holding, jabbing, and moving by Mayweather.
Atlas says Crawford won’t run, but fans don’t want to see a chess match on Saturday night. The type of fights fans want to see are wars, and that’s not Crawford’s style. His approach to fighting is a combination of Shakur Stevenson and Mayweather, boxing, moving, and throwing potshots.
Turki has built up the Canelo-Crawford fight, saying it’s the “Fight of the Century” despite Crawford not being known for having a crowd-pleasing fighting style. Moreover, he’s never fought at 168 or even 160. If Crawford fights the way Atlas wants him to, there are going to be a lot of unhappy fans, and he could get booed out of the Allegiant Stadium that night.
Turki is reportedly paying Crawford $50 million for the fight that he didn’t have to earn by beating any of the top super middleweights. Won’t Terence have a sense of obligation to stay in the trenches and fight Canelo?
Last Updated on 09/08/2025
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