Will the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford Clash Deliver on Expectations?

Terence Crawford admits that he’s got a “tough challenge” going up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13th. Bud Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has been inactive for most of the last four years, didn’t look good in his last fight against Israil Madrimov, and he’s on the wrong side of 30, nearing 40.

The Risk of Weight Class Jumps

Turki Alalshikh believed in Crawford enough to make the fight with Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs), but there’s a good chance that this fight might not deliver the fireworks that he’d hoped. Crawford has chosen not to take a tune-up in the weight class and will be moving up two divisions after a 13-month layoff to face Alvarez.

There would be a lot of disappointment if the fight is boring with Crawford running around the ring, or if it’s a complete mismatch like Alvarez’s fight against Jermell Charlo. That’s why it’s a bad idea to throw a lot of money at a smaller fighter to move up two or three weight classes. There’s a risk that it won’t be an entertaining fight, especially when the smaller fighter refuses to get experience in that weight class.

Trainer Abel Sanchez and former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia are skeptical about Crawford winning. They both noted how bad he looked in his last fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd, winning a narrow 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.

The more accurate of those scores were the 115-113 ones, even though they didn’t tell the whole story. It could have been a draw or a win for Madrimov if he hadn’t been facing a much more popular fighter than himself. Crawford is now jumping up 14 pounds from 154 to 168, and again, without taking a tune-up in the weight class. Only he knows why he chose not to fight someone at 168 to get some experience.

Crawford on Facing Canelo

“It’s going to be a tough challenge on both sides. He’s going to have some challenges. I’m going to have some challenges. That’s what great fights are about. Who overcomes those challenges and who capitalizes on the other fighter’s mistakes,” said Terence Crawford to Fighthype about his September 13th title challenge against Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas.

“I’m going to be ready and I’m going to be prepared. I’m excited and looking forward to it,” said Crawford.