Following his undisputed victory in the 147 ranks, Terence Crawford was adamant he has what it takes to move up to 168 and defeat Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez.
Crawford catapulted himself to the top of the pound-for-pound list with that win over Errol Spence but, even despite his unique skillset, many in the sport felt the Canelo quest was a step too far.
“Terence Crawford will beat Canelo anytime. I’ve said before the big talented man will always beat the smaller talented fighter – but Terence Crawford is not small, Crawford is a big guy, he can walk about at 168 if he wants to. If this fight is made at 164 then Terence Crawford all day.
Based on skillset alone, Crawford is a master and will make Canelo look like a child. From an expert fighter’s view, Crawford will beat him in a masterclass all day.”
Having seen the American’s debut at super-welterweight – still two divisions below where he would have to meet the Mexican – De La Hoya has switched his prediction entirely.
“At 154, [Crawford] didn’t really look too dangerous up in the ring, against a beast. So imagine Canelo being the bigger guy, being a beast, it’s almost like a no contest. I mean, come on, when has a smaller good guy ever beaten a good bigger guy. It’s never happened in the history of the sport. It’s rare.”
Despite previous excitement about the bout from Crawford and his backer Turki Alalshikh, the businessman from Saudi Arabia recently pulled it off the table before branding the unified super-middleweight champion ‘afraid.’
