Former unified welterweight world champion Keith Thurman has weighed in on the impending ‘super-fight’ between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
The pound-for-pound greats are just days away from locking horns for the undisputed super-middleweight championship at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Canelo is set to defend his undisputed crown at 168lbs in what is his second reign as champion, after he defeated Cuba’s former IBF super-middleweight champion William Scull in Riyadh back in May to achieve this feat.
‘Bud’ Crawford will make the move up to 168lbs for the first time in his decorated professional career this weekend, after a career which has seen him compete at lightweight, super-lightweight, welterweight and super-welterweight to date.
One man he never crossed paths with at 147lbs was Thurman, but the former WBA and WBC welterweight champion has now offered his take on the Canelo vs. Crawford showdown.
In an interview with Chris Mannix, Thurman says Canelo is not and never has been ‘unbeatable’ ahead of what could be a legacy defining clash with ‘Bud’.
“Canelo Alvarez is not, was not and will not ever be an unbeatable fighter. That’s fine, none of us are really unbeatable right but people gotta understand this. Canelo Alvarez is not an unbeatable fighter.”
‘One Time’ followed this up by sharing his final verdict on the upcoming match-up between the modern greats, as he wonders whether Canelo has ‘lost his bite’ which could play into the hands of Crawford come fight night.
“The funny thing is, with the extra body weight, is he agile? Is the footwork gonna be able to move and still use the ring in those later rounds as the pressure continues, you know.
“The other thing too is Canelo lost a little bit of his bite. He hasn’t been tremendously devastating and taking people out so that helps, that re-establishes the fight and it is in ‘Bud’ Crawford’s favour there.”
While Thurman may believe Crawford could come out on top, ‘Bud’ is faced with what has been dubbed as the toughest test of his professional career, and boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is one who feels that Canelo will be victorious.
