Terence Crawford took to social media to wish good luck to unified super middleweight Canelo Alvarez, champion, for his announced next fight against IBF champ William Scull on May 3rd in Riyadh.
Undisputed Dream
Terence says he wants to defeat Canelo to become a three-division undisputed champion. The Omaha, Nebraska native Crawford collected the four belts at 140 and 147, albeit fighting lesser opposition. However, he has not fought at 168 or 160 and struggled at 154 against Israil Madrimov. This fight is happening because Turki Al-Sheikh feels it’s a “big fight.”
Crawford is a fight that Canelo is willing to take, as he has no interest in facing David Benavidez. The 37-year-old Crawford was one that the Mexican star agreed to, but it’s not the one that fans wanted to see. It’s another Jermell Charlo type of circus fight and promises to be another rip-off mismatch.
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has already been named by Turki Al-Sheikh as Canelo’s opponent on September 13th in the second fight of his four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is expected to easily beat obscure fighter Scull (23-0, 9 KOs), but there’s always a chance of an upset.
Crawford’s Calculated Wait
Crawford is going to sit and wait for his September 13th fight against Canelo rather than taking a tuneup before then at 168. Fans see that as clear sign that this is just about Terence not wanting to risk his retirement payday, because there’s a chance he would get exposed if he fought anyone in the top 15 at super middleweight.
A tuneup would surely require that Crawford fight a contender at 168, and it’s too risky. He almost lost in his debut at 154 last August. He looked old, small, and weak in his questionable 12-round decision win over Israil Madrimov. You can only imagine how Crawford at 168 against someone like Osleys Iglesias, Diego Pacheco or Christian Mbilli. All the mileage that Crawford has put on his body during his 17-year professional career would be exposed.
Scull is like a poor man’s version of Crawford. The Cuban Scull makes all the same moves as him but isn’t as talented. If Canelo loses his May 3rd fight, it will hurt the fans’ interest in Turki’s prize, the Canelo-Crawford clash.
On paper, Canelo should have no problems beating Scull because this is a very average-looking fighter who wouldn’t be a world champion if he fought one of the top contenders at 168. Canelo’s last performance against Edgar Berlanga showed that he’d lost a lot from his game due to age and ring wear.
“I got Canelo on that one. There are weight classes for a reason. Crawford is the best fighter on the planet. I think Canelo is a different mindset,” said Regis Prograis to MillCity Boxing. “Going up those weight divisions, I’m going to go with Canelo.
“Crawford is going to have to be an excellent boxer that night, and I think that Crawford could do it. I think he can, but it’s going to be hard to keep Canelo away from you all night for 12 rounds. So, for me, I can’t go against Canelo.
“Even if he doesn’t beat Canelo, he’s still up there as one of those guys,” said Prograis about Crawford.
