Callum Smith doubts Crawford can handle Canelo’s size

Callum Smith doubts Terence Crawford can handle Canelo Alvarez’s size when he moves up two divisions to fight him in September at super middleweight.

Is Crawford too small?

Light heavyweight Smith, who shared the ring with Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) when he competed at 168, notes that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) began his career in the lower weights at 135, moving up two weight classes from 154 to fight Canelo at 168 is a “tough question” size-wise.

Smith isn’t completely ruling out the 37-year-old Crawford, noting that Canelo is starting to show signs of age, but he still feels it will be difficult for the Nebraska native.

Crawford hasn’t fought at super middleweight, had trouble moving up to 154 against Israil Madrimov and will come off a year off from the ring if the fight with Canelo happens in September. If so, he will have been out of the ring for 13 months.

“That’s a big fight. They are both pound-for-pound stars and exceptional. “It will be interesting to see how the weight affects Crawford moving up (to 168),” Callum Smith told Professional boxing fanstalking about the possible Canelo Álvarez vs. Terence Crawford in September.

“As we saw with (former undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell) Charlo. He’s a very good fighter, but he really couldn’t beat him (Canelo). It’s okay to gain weight, but there is such a thing as natural size and Crawford is moving up from the lower weights.

“He is a four-weight world champion. So, moving up another two to face the likes of Canelo is going to be a tall order, but as we saw with (undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur) Beterbiev (in his recent close fight against Dmitry Bivol), Canelo isn’t getting any younger. .

Spence wins by chance

Crawford was at his best at 135 and 140 when he had the size advantage against less than stellar opposition in those weight classes when he fought in them. At 147, Bud was slower and easier to hit, and it took a wrecked, inactive, injury-plagued, and weightless Errol Spence car accident to make Crawford look good.

Before that, he hadn’t looked impressive in fights against David Avanesyan, Jose Benavidez Jr. and Jeff Horn at welterweight. He looked like an average fighter, better than those low-quality guys, but not a super talent.

It’s interesting how much attention was paid to Terence’s victory over Spence. Fans suddenly thought he was an entertaining knockout artist and had fought like that his entire career.

This was not how Crawford had looked or fought during his career. If fans had watched his entire career, as I did, they would have seen that he was a Shakur-style mover and counterpuncher, and that his knockouts had come against older fighters.

Crawford’s recent knockouts

Errol Spence: 34
David Avanesyan: 35
Shawn Porter: 34
Kell Brook: 34
Amir Khan: 34

“He’s had a difficult career and he’s had injuries and stuff. As a boxing fan, I’m happy to see these types of fights. Now, as a fan, I sit and watch it. I’m looking forward to it,” Smith said about the Canelo vs. fight. Crawford.

Canelo is slowing down at 34 years old and is no longer the fighter he was four years ago in 2021, when he captured the undisputed super middleweight championship against Calen Plant. However, he is much larger and stronger and weighs 168 pounds by nature.

He is also four years younger than Crawford, who will turn 38 in September and is coming off a lackluster performance against Israil Madrimov in his debut at 154 on August 3, 2024.