Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez seems to be slowly coming round to the idea of a fight with Terence Crawford.
The American has been calling Canelo out for some time, making it clear that he wants to challenge himself against the very best despite currently being two weight classes below.
Mexico’s Alvarez won his first world title at super-welterweight, the division Crawford recently most recently competed in, before moving on to middleweight and settling, largely dominating, at super-middle. He has also made two jumps to light-heavyweight, with one win over Sergey Kovalev and a loss against Dmitry Bivol.
Despite his history in the lighter divisions, when the match-up with Crawford was first mentioned Canelo made it clear that he will not budge from 168 pounds.
“I can’t go down anymore. But, you know, like he said when they asked him about the Gervonta Davis fight, he wouldn’t get credit for that fight. It’s the same for me. I don’t need to take that fight because everybody [would] say he’s too small … [It would have to be] 168.”
Although many in the sport believe this is where the fight is won and lost, the response is not a problem for Crawford, who wants it at super-middle to challenge for Canelo’s belts and ensure the victory, of which he is confident, is as significant as it can be.
Although not giving up on the weight, Canelo has since changed his tune on the match-up itself, telling Sway’s Universe more recently that he’s “in” if the money is right.
“I’m in. Why not? Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great fighter, but for me, in my weight class, it’s an easy fight. Easy money. If the money is right, I’m in because I don’t like to fight guys like Crawford; he moves a lot, and the fight is not that great. I saw in his last fight, and he doesn’t move that much now. So, if the money is right, I’m in right now … there are weight classes for a reason.”
The Mexican superstar is now in the market for his next opponent for a May return. One man in the running is IBF Super-middleweight World Champion, William Scull.
