Terence Crawford wants to move up two divisions from his last fight to challenge Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez.
Both men are four-weight world champion and no strangers to packing on extra pounds. Though Canelo is currently dominant and comfortable at super-middleweight, he has twice ventured up to light-heavy. The first occasion was a stoppage win over veteran Sergey Kovalev. The Mexican’s second attempt didn’t go to plan and he took a points loss to Dmitry Bivol.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, Kovalev was asked about the Crawford match-up with his former foe and, although he has major concerns about how Crawford would pack on the weight, he absolutely believes he has the skills to beat Canelo.
“Terence Crawford, great fighter. Huge respect to him. I think he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter. But if he will move up… He can beat Canelo, but I don’t know how he will be comfortable in his division.
What division are they gonna fight? Super-middleweight? It’s too big. He will be slower, you know? Because he will be bigger. For a fight every boxer should be losing weight for speed, lightness, movement. It’s no good for Crawford. But I know and I see that he can get the win.
“Canelo will keep his hands up and walk him down. Crawford is very smart, but nobody knows how he will feel at super-middleweight. It’s too much weight. I did a fight at 200 pounds, I wasn’t light-heavy, I was slow. It’s not comfortable. I think Crawford will be the same heavier. If he will be in his shape, he will beat Canelo.”
Canelo has made it clear that he will begin looking for his next opponent at the turn of the year. It is expected that an offer from Crawford’s team will be presented to him.
