Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Terence Crawford are set to go face-to-face in a mega-fight later this year.
Canelo, who currently holds the unified WBC, WBA and WBO super-middleweight titles, had reportedly been in negotiations to face YouTube sensation turned professional fighter Jake Paul, before the fight fell through at the very last minute.
It was then revealed that the 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico would instead face fellow pound-for-pound great ‘Bud’ Crawford, who is 41 fights into an exceptional career where he has won world titles in four weight classes, as well as the undisputed championship at light-welterweight and welterweight.
The latest fighter to have his say on the highly anticipated showdown is newly crowned WBC light-heavyweight champion David Benavidez, who has actually been targeting a bout against Canelo in recent years.
In an interview with Jake Paul, Benavidez doesn’t discount Crawford’s chances entirely saying he ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if he won, but believes the ‘massive’ weight discrepancy will be the deciding factor.
“I think Crawford is a tremendous fighter, he has a great IQ in boxing but I think just the weight difference is just too massive and you know not to knock Crawford off but he really didn’t look as strong at 154 so he’s still gonna go up two weight classes, 160 & 168, so I think that just tells everything that needs to be said on its own.”
Before he can shift his focus to Crawford, Canelo must first come through a bout with IBF super-middleweight champion William Scull unscathed. The Mexican superstar faces Scull on May 3 in Riyadh, as he bids to become a two-time undisputed champion at 168lbs.
