WBC ‘Interim’ super welterweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr has had his say on the upcoming mega-fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.
After months of speculation, it has now been confirmed that Canelo will be defending his unified WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight titles against ‘Bud’ Crawford later on this year.
Crawford is bidding to become a world champion in five weight classes, adding to his list of incredible achievements. The 37-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska has already captured undisputed championships at both super lightweight and welterweight but could be in with a chance of repeating that feat at 168lbs, as long as Canelo can defeat IBF champion William Scull on May 3.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Ortiz assessed Crawford’s chances of getting the victory over Canelo, claiming he believes he will be ‘too small’.
“My honest opinion is that I think he’s gonna be too small.
Canelo is still Canelo, you know. Crawford is probably number one pound-for-pound, but what pound-for-pound means if they were all in the same weight class, they are not in the same weight class. He just moved up right, I can still say he just moved up from 147 to 168, there are weight classes for a reason.
Now, if they were in the same weight class then it’s a different story, it will be a way more competitive fight but they’re not.”
Canelo has been a dominant force at 168lbs since he moved up from middleweight in 2020. The 34-year-old from Guadalajara, Mexico has secured impressive wins against the likes of Gennady Golovkin, Jermell Charlo and Jaime Munguia and will be looking to add ‘Bud’ Crawford’s name to that long list.
