Terence Crawford‘s pursuit of Canelo Alvarez has led to one world champion vowing to face him first and knock him out.
Crawford has made it known that he’s willing to jump up to super-middleweight to face Canelo, which would be two weight classes higher than his current division of 154lbs.
The American superstar made the move to super-welterweight for his last contest, defeating Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision to win the WBA title and become a four-weight world champion in the process.
Some observers have called the potential Crawford-Canelo showdown a mismatch due to the weight difference, while others believe that ‘Bud’ has the skills to potentially cause Alvarez problems.
One man who has made his intentions perfectly known on the situation is current WBO super-lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, who has been embroiled in a feud with Crawford in recent months.
The two men clashed at ringside during Canelo’s victory over Edgar Berlanga in September, and Lopez has previously told ESNEWS that he would stop ‘Bud’ inside nine rounds.
“I’d say by 9. It’s my favourite number and a guy like him, you gotta break him down, you gotta break him down, you can’t just take him out.”
He also told Fighthype that Canelo is simply too big for Crawford.
“I think Canelo is just too big for him. He’s too big, realistically. Too big, too strong and used to that weight class, so you can be a boxer and all those things but it is what it is.
Canelo is still the face of boxing and the guy everyone wants to fight, Crawford wouldn’t want the fight if Canelo wasn’t the face of boxing. It’s a money grab, it’s a money fight.”
Lopez has now explained his reasons for wanting to face ‘Bud’ whilst speaking to The Danza Project, wanting to secure the bout before Crawford potentially loses to Canelo and walks away from the sport.
“I’d rather go after the guy with too much of an ego and that’s Terence Crawford. He’s doing that [Canelo fight] so he can get one more bag and then be like I’m out, I did everything.”
The bad blood between Crawford and Lopez shows no signs of slowing down, with ‘Bud’ recently sending a huge threat to his rival.
