A former rival of Canelo Alvarez has shared his thoughts on the Mexican icon’s upcoming ‘mega-fight’ with Terence Crawford.
‘Bud’ Crawford is set to make his first appearance at 168lbs when he faces the Mexican icon next month, after last competing at 154lbs in August 2024 when he defeated Israil Madrimov to win the WBA super-welterweight title.
As for Canelo, the 35-year-old from Guadalajara has been a dominant force at 168lbs since making the move up from middleweight back in 2018, and having completed as high as light heavyweight in his career, is set to provide a serious threat to Crawford.
One man that faced Canelo during the earlier stages of his career is Cuba’s Erislandy Lara, who currently reigns as the WBA middleweight champion. Lara was defeated via split decision when he clashed with the Mexican back in 2014, although it has been argued that he did enough to be declared the winner, including by the man himself, who called it a ‘robbery’ post-fight.
Speaking to Fight Hype, Lara shared his thoughts on the upcoming showdown between his former rival and Crawford, saying he is giving ‘Bud’ a ‘very good chance’ of being victorious with the right game plan.
“I see it as an interesting 50-50 fight. I feel that Canelo is very strong right now, and I want to see how Crawford handles the power, especially in the early rounds, and what’s going to happen.
“I remember fighting Canelo 14 years (11 years) ago. I remember, I used my legs real good. As long as Crawford uses his legs and doesn’t let Canelo hit him in the arms and beat him up on the arms, he has a very good chance of winning.”
Whilst Crawford is faced with what is undoubtedly the toughest test of his glittering career when he faces Canelo, the 37-year-old from Omaha will write his name into the boxing history books should he be successful, as he sets his sights on becoming the first male fighter to capture an undisputed championship in three weight classes.
