Terence Crawford may just get his shot at Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez this year.
Both are four-weight world champions and regarded as the very elite of the sport, however many dismissed Crawford’s call outs due to the two weight-class gap – 14 pounds – between his last outing and the Mexican’s division.
That included the Canelo himself, who had all but refused the fight in the past, saying he would get no credit for beating the smaller man. He has come around to the idea over time, next saying he would be open to it for the right money and, most recently, meeting with boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh to discuss it directly.
Should he welcome ‘Bud’ up to super-middleweight, many big names in the sport feel that the weight jump will simply be too much to handle for Crawford down the stretch. That includes two-weight world champion Teofimo Lopez, who has recently been training alongside Alvarez under coach Eddy Reynoso.
He told ES News he predicts a late stoppage for the defending champ.
“It’s a big money fight. Overall we’ll all be winning seeing those two fight. I think it will be great.
“I think Crawford is gonna give Canelo a hard time in the beginning, but once Canelo gets a little bit comfortable in that ring, adapting to Crawford’s style, we see Canelo finishing him off in the late rounds.”
Reports suggest that the fight could take place in September of this year, leaving the potential for both men to have a fight beforehand. For Crawford, it may be an idea to test out the waters at middleweight.
