Andre Ward is still pushing for unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez to fight 154-pound Terence Crawford because he thinks the Nebraska native could “outbox” the Mexican star. Ward doesn’t understand why Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) won’t give the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) a shot.
Should Canelo fight Crawford?
Canelo has already said that it is not a fight that he is interested in because it is a type of match without a win, where he is criticized no matter what happens. The only one coming out of the fight in a great position is Crawford, who would not be criticized if he loses because Canelo fights two weight classes above him and is much heavier.
Ward isn’t saying anything about Crawford not showing the initiative to move up to 168 and beat the top fighters to earn a title shot against Canelo.
Why doesn’t Crawford win the fight?
People have to earn things with hard work, and Ward is not pressuring Crawford to move up to 168 and earn the fight against Canelo by beating these contenders:
– Christian Mbilli
– Diego Pacheco
– Osleys Iglesias
– Jaime Munguia
– Caleb Plant
If Crawford was hungry, he could fight all five of those guys in the next year and knock on Canelo’s door for a world title shot in early 2026. Why isn’t Crawford doing that? Is he afraid of losing to one or all of those fighters and being kicked out of the Canelo contest?
Crawford is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision in his 154 debut against 11-fight rookie Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3. He barely won that fight in his first fight at junior middleweight, and he didn’t fight any of the other killers at 154, like Bakhram Murtazaliev and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Crawford has never been at 160, and this would be a logical step to work his way into fighting Canelo. Why isn’t Crawford fighting IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly? Does Crawford feel he doesn’t have to work for things in life? Other fighters are working, so why not?
“The game is different. There’s a lot of strategy that happens with guys who don’t take fights and why they don’t fight,” Andre Ward told Stephen A. Jackson. YouTube channel. “I like the Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez fight.
The game is different. And Crawford is part of it. Because he did not take a risky fight against Murataliev and Vergil Jr. at 154? Why isn’t Crawford fighting Janibek at 160 or David Benavidez? There are fighters who don’t fight, and Crawford is one of them. Ward didn’t call it just to prank the guys.
“A lot of people say I’m crazy to say Terence Crawford can win that fight. My thing is, if you don’t think Terence Crawford can outbox Canelo Alvarez, you might want to get your eyes checked,” Ward said.
The 37-year-old Crawford barely beat Madrimov in his debut at 154, and it’s obvious from that fight that he’s not going to cut the mustard if he jumps up two weight classes to fight Canelo at 168.
Crawford could make things easier on Canelo if he moved up to 168 and beat Iglesias, Pacheco, Mbilli, Plant and Munguia. If he can beat these guys or David Morrell, he will probably get a title shot against Canelo.
Canelo’s history of fighting against smaller opponents
“There’s a reason why Canelo didn’t jump in that fight because he fought Amir Khan, who was two weight classes below him (correction: one weight class). So, the weight is not that big,” he said Ward.
Khan only moved up one weight class, not two, when Canelo fought him in 2016. Canelo knew Khan was coming to fight. With Crawford, he already knows he’s going to use Mayweather’s plan to box and move all night.
His trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, has already said that he will have Crawford use the Mayweather game plan. In hindsight, BoMac should have kept his shutout because he gave Canelo even more of a reason not to fight.
“It’s a fight (Canelo vs. Crawford) I’d really like to see. It’s a dangerous fight for both fighters for different reasons. It’s a fight I’d like to see, and this is an all-time great fight that people (would like see),” said Ward.
“The assumption is from the public that he is (Canelo) 30 lbs more. It would be a great classic fight,” said Ward,
