Former two-division world champion Tim Bradley says Terence Crawford will frustrate Canelo Alvarez with his skills, force him to make mistakes, and take advantage of them by landing headshots in their 12-round headliner on September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Beyond the Smiling Facade
“Canelo gets frustrated. Did you see him against [William] Scull? I’ve never seen Terence Crawford’s face change in a fight. The only other thing I see him do in a fight is smile. That’s it. But you don’t ever see this man panic at all,” said Tim Bradley on his channel.
Crawford looked worried in his last fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024. ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov got the better of Bud with the powerful pinpoint right hands that he was shooting down the middle like they were laser-guided missiles, bouncing them off his head.
Terence appeared flustered in the early going in his fight against Kell Brook on November 14, 2020. Brook had landed a lot of hard punches in the first three rounds, swelling up Crawford’s face and busting his lips. There was a look of panic in Crawford’s face going into the fourth round. This was the post-Gennady Golovkin version of Kell that he was facing.
“I see panic in Canelo’s eyes a lot of times when he fights, when he can’t get to his opponents,” said Bradley. “Crawford is going to frustrate the hell out of Canelo. He’s going to be frustrated, getting mad, talking about, ‘Come on and fight me.’”
The Fans Didn’t Ask
Bradley is failing to recognize how much money Crawford is being paid for the Alvarez mega-fight, how much hype is involved in this contest, and what the expectations are for him. Turki Alalshikh, the financer of this event, hand-picked Crawford for this fight. He’s the one who wanted him for this fight, not the fans. This is his baby, his little monster.
No one was asking for Alvarez to fight the 37-year-old Crawford. They wanted David Benavidez or Dmitry Bivol. Crawford wasn’t even being mentioned. Fans wanted to see Bud fight Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Sebastian Fundora, and Bakhram Murtazalev from the 154-lb division.
The Turki Alalshikh Mandate
Turki selected Terence, and he has already issued his no Tom-and-Jerry fights’ mandate. With the estimated $50 million purse and Crawford being selected by Turki, he’s not going to be trying to frustrate Canelo. If he did that, he’d run around the ring like William Scull did, and get booed out of the Allegiant Stadium. Crawford is going to exchange with Canelo and try and beat him the way he did the post-crash Errol Spence that he stopped in the ninth round two years ago on July 29, 2023.
“This right here [the mind] is going to win the fight for Crawford,” said Bradley. “When Canelo gets upset, he’s going to get popped upside the head. Crawford is going to the body. He’s going to see if you like it.”
Tim is assuming that the annoyance that Canelo showed in his last fight against the non-engaging IBF super middleweight champion William Scull is a sign that he’ll be frustrated against Crawford, too, if things are going his way. Canelo was upset with Scull because their fight on May 3, 2025, was because he was moving all night and not showing interest in standing and fighting. In other words, Scull fought like he came to survive.
A Look at Crawford’s Career
Crawford’s opponents from 2015 to 2025
2024: Israil Madrimov
2023: Errol Spence Jr.
2022: David Avanesyan
2021: Shawn Porter
2020: Kell Brook
2019: Egidijus Kavaliauskas
2019: Amir Khan
2018: Jose Benavidez Jr.
2018: Jeff Horn
2017: Julius Indongo
2017: Felix Diaz
2016: John Molina Jr.
2016: Viktor Postol
2016: Henry Lundy
2015: Dierry Jean
2015: Thomas Dulorme
Crawford’s resume for the last 10 years is thin, which would explain why he’s been able to smile a lot, as Bradley mentions. However, Crawford was not smiling against Brook, Madrimov, or Kavaliauskas. He looked concerned in those fights.
Last Updated on 08/27/2025
Read the full article here