Oleksandr Usyk has had his say on the potential mega fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez.
The pound-for-pound greats are set to face each other later this year, with an agreement reportedly in place for one of the biggest fights in boxing.
‘Bud’ Crawford faces his toughest challenge yet as he steps up two weight divisions to challenge Canelo, who holds the unified WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight titles.
The 37-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska has already won world titles in four weight classes, making his most recent ring appearance last August when he dethroned WBA light middleweight champion Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles.
Canelo has been a dominant force at 168lbs ever since he became the undisputed champion in 2021 when he defeated Caleb Plant. The Mexican superstar made four successful defences of his crown, before being stripped of his IBF title last year after opting to face Edgar Berlanga Jr rather than his mandatory challenger William Scull.
Speaking on The 3 Knockdown Rule Podcast, unified heavyweight champion Usyk gave his backing to Crawford, claiming the ring IQ of the American will see ‘Terence Win’.
“I like Terence. He’s a crazy man. Terence win. Listen, Terence is different man. Terence works on two sides. Right and left, he’s very smart man. He feels distance and space.
“Canelo big, yeah, good boxer, but I say, Terence. Terence can box him like a big guy.”
Although an official announcement is yet to be made, the highly anticipated showdown is expected to take place in Las Vegas this September, following a period of negotiations between both fighters camps and Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh, who has been keen on getting a deal agreed between two of boxing’s biggest names.
