Terence Crawford feels he has what it takes to challenge and beat Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez despite the fight requiring a three-weight jump up from his last contest at welterweight.
The Omaha native entered the sport as a 135 pounder in the lightweight ranks, eventually becoming undisputed there before winning the WBO World Title and moving up to 140. He captured all four belts in that division before doing the same at 147 last year.
With a super-welterweight debut on the horizon for a belt in a fourth division, Crawford has made no secret that his next ‘big fish’ is Canelo, currently undisputed at 168.
Many feel a fight with the Mexican is a step too far, but not double undisputed champion Claressa Shields. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, she made two predictions in one – Canelo beats 168 rival David Benavidez, but Crawford beats Canelo.
“David’s a different type of animal, it’s a fight I wanna see. But I still think the only man that can beat Canelo is Terence Crawford. That’s just what I think and I want to see it.”
Benavidez is another man chasing Canelo with no luck so far. Neither he nor Crawford look likely to get the fight this year, with the four-belt champion and future Hall of Famer likely to take on another mandatory challenger in Edgar Berlanga.
Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh has expressed interest in both fights, music to the ears of the potential challengers. First up Crawford must prove that even super-welterweight isn’t a step too far when he faces champion Israil Madrimov on August 3.
