Trainer Stephen Edwards believes Terence Crawford has enough size, power, conditioning and technical skills to move up to 168 and defeat unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Edwards thinks that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) could not beat David Benavidez, David Morrell, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitry Bivol. Those guys are too big and too technical for the 37-year-old Crawford. But the 34-year-old Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is starting to show signs of age, and he is beatable by Crawford.
Vulnerable champion
Canelo turns 35 on July 18, and has failed to knock out his last six opponents. His last knockout came three years ago against Caleb Plant on November 6, 2021.
The Mexican star has not indicated that he will fight Crawford, and will not agree to the match unless he feels he can win. His net worth is estimated at $250 million. So, whatever money Turki Alalshikh could offer Alvarez wouldn’t entice him to take the Crawford fight unless he wanted to. He already has enough dough to live richly for 20 lifetimes, and he can continue to make several million per fight, taking on easy opposition.
“Yeah, I think he can go up to 168 and fight some people. Do I think he can fight Benavidez or Morrell? No, they’re too big, too skilled and too tall. That would be a lot to overcome,” Stephen Edwards told FighthypeThey are talking about Terence Crawford who is too small to fight Benavidez or Morrell at super middleweight.
“Canelo comes from the lower weights and is the same height as Crawford. I actually think that Crawford is a little taller. Crawford’s arms are much longer, and he has a much better gas tank. I have never seen Crawford worn out.
“Canelo is letting guys off the hook today that when he was in his prime, he would normally stop them. Now, he’s letting them off the hook because he doesn’t have that extra boost in his gas tank. If Bud was fighting Canelo at 168, Bud would be full of calories. He could eat whatever he wanted to eat at any time of the day,” Edwards said.
Crawford is also quite old, at 37, and almost lost his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd. He won’t be able to win rounds against Canelo with the weak shots he was landing against Madrimov. Those punches looked weak compared to when he was fighting at 147, 140 and 135.
The judges will give Canelo the rounds against Crawford, even if he is outworked. If Canelo’s shots are much harder, he will win the rounds. Crawford doesn’t hit as hard as Jermell Charlo or Erislandy Lara, and those guys were outmatched in terms of power against Canelo.
Genius at work?
“His energy levels will be off the hook. He will probably enter the ring at 159 or 160 lbs. There is no need to come to 168 just because that is the weight limit. You have to be fast in that fight,” said Edwards about Crawford.
“I told him (Crawford), ‘That fight you fought that night (against Viktor Postol at 140, eight years ago on July 23, 2016), is the fight that could beat Canelo. He smiled a little. I think Bud is a genius, and sometimes when you’re a genius, you don’t know you’re a genius. He has the ability to make adjustments in combat.”
The fight against Viktor Postol was a long time ago when Crawford was 28 years old. He is now 37 years old, and does not look as young, fast or mobile as he was in the Postol fight. Crawford has aged. Therefore, comparing this version of Crawford to the one he beat Postol to use as an argument for why he will beat Canelo makes no sense. This version of Crawford no longer exists.
It was another person. If he was a monster puncher like Artur Beterbiev, it wouldn’t be a big deal that Crawford isn’t as young as he once was. He is not a big puncher and wins his fights on speed, reflexes and boxing skills. That won’t be enough at his current physical state to beat Canelo, and the judges won’t do him any favors.
“I don’t think he can beat guys like Bivol and Beterbiev. I think it’s too much, but Canelo,” Edwards said. “It’s a great fight, but my eyes tell me it’s slowing down a little bit. Le Canelo here is fighting Berlanga. Three years ago, Canelo was knocking out Berlanga. It’s not a fight. It’s a public execution.
“The fact that he let Berlanga go the distance. He let Munguia go the distance. He let Charlo go the distance. Bud’s movement, conditioning and strength. Bud is a lot stronger than people realize. I’m not saying he’s stronger than Canelo. It’s not a weigh-in contest,” Edwards said.
