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Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford will beat Canelo Alvarez and that he “can make it a very easy fight” when they meet in September.
WBC lightweight champion Stevenson claims he has been saying for years that he believes Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will beat Canelo. He says Canelo won’t be able to take Crawford’s punches because he feels he can hit in “any weight class.”
Crawford didn’t look powerful in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov and couldn’t hurt him with his best shots. Madrimov seemed to be doing something more dangerous and wasn’t even loading up his punches like he usually does.
““Easy job” for Bud?
“I’ve been saying this for years. I’m probably the first to say this, even before Terence says it. “I always thought his (Crawford) style against Canelo, I think he beats Canelo,” Shakur Stevenson told talkSport Boxing about his belief that Crawford will beat Canelo. “I’m not saying it will be an easy fight, but he can make it a very easy fight.”
“I met Terence in Dubai and he’s actually fatter. It has thickened recently. He’s 38,” Gareth A. Davies said of the older-looking Crawford. “It has thickened.”
“That’s also something else. I don’t think Canelo is overcoming his punches. Terence can punch, and that goes for any weight class,” Shakur said.
The way Shakur puts it, Crawford will be in the pocket and going to war with Canelo in September. That’s unrealistic, considering how Crawford has traditionally fought when facing punchers. He tends to move around a lot, throwing jabs and jumping to land blows.
Terence does not stay in one place or attack with full charges. He fought Errol Spence aggressively, but that was because he was fighting a guy who was a shell of his former self after his car accident.
To tune or not?
“It would be a little more than a year (13 months). You have to be very careful if you are going to fight above 160 pounds, because it is a new weight range,” said Chris Mannix in his YouTube channel about the need for Terence Crawford to be careful when he tunes up to stay sharp for his September fight against Canelo Alvarez.
It’s doubtful Crawford will take the risk of preparing against a super middleweight to get his feet wet before fighting Canelo in September. If Terence fights in the weight class, it will be at a catchweight, probably against a middleweight who moves up to 163 or 164.
I could see Crawford fighting one of these middleweights at a catchweight around 164: Aaron McKenna, Liam Smith, Austin Williams or Kyrone Davis. Those guys are not a threat to beat Crawford and are ranked low at middleweight.
“Having only fought once at 154, I’m sure he can make weight. He’s a long guy. “I’m sure he can fill out his picture well enough,” Mannix said of Crawford. “You have to be careful who you choose. You can’t be selecting a puncher. You can’t select anyone really dangerous. You can’t risk that bread (for Canelo’s fight).
“Do you remember when Oscar (De La Hoya) fought Stevie Forbes before he fought Mayweather?” Mannix said.
It would be a shock if Crawford accepted any warm-up fights because he wouldn’t want to risk money for the Canelo fight, and he’s comfortable fighting once a year.
Crawford hasn’t been active in five years, and he certainly won’t now that he’s about to receive the biggest retirement payout of his career against Alvarez.
