Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, says they’re not taking the fight against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13th for “the money.” Crawford, 38, is moving up two divisions to “prove to the world that they’re the “best.” BoMac insists it has nothing to do with money
The Real Reason
You wouldn’t expect BoMac to come clean and give the true reason for why Crawford is taking the fight with Canelo with no experience in the weight class. Of course, BoMac is going to say that Crawford is doing it for his legacy and to prove the doubters wrong. It’s that sweet, lovable cash that Crawford is chasing. I don’t blame him for his hustle. I’d do it, too, and let BoMac come up with all the double talk.
People saw how Crawford struggled in his last fight, going from 147 to 154 of his match against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov last August. That performance showed that Crawford had reached his level in a match that many fans saw as a draw.
After that fight, Crawford put on the [pressure, saying he only wanted to fight Canelo, which is understandable. If he tried to go further against the other top 154-pounders, he’d likely lose.
Fans counter that if it has nothing to do with the giant payday Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is receiving for this Riyadh Season event against Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs), why isn’t he proving himself first by taking on one or two of the killers in the division?
If it’s not about money, why isn’t Crawford taking a tune-up at 168 against one of the contenders? Why is he not planning to stay at 168 after his fight with Canelo if the purse isn’t his sole reason for taking the fight?
“I’m licking my chops at this September fight because I want to prove to the world – again – that we’re the best team out there, that Terence is the best out there,” said Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre to Boxingscene about his desire for Terence Crawford to prove that he’s better than Canelo Alvarez at 168.
Why wouldn’t BoMac be “licking” his chops? The money Crawford is going to get fighting Canelo will be huge, and he’s getting it without ever fighting once at 168. It’s like he’s getting money given to him for beating a shell of Errol Spence, a bunch of scrubs at 147, and getting lucky with his victory over Madrimov.
It would be a different story if Crawford had to go up to 168 and enter the general population with the predators and earn the fight with Alvarez. I don’t think he would do well. Crawford would get weeded out in lightning fashion and be sent into retirement or limping back to 154 with what was left of him.
Hustle Mode?
“This ain’t no money fight. Everybody might be looking at it like it’s the money, but no. Bud’s gonna [win]. Watch,” said BoMac, sounding like he’s in full hustle mode.
“When Bud’s on that different level, it’s all about being great with him. It’s not about the money. This cat wants to be great. And this is the icing on the cake. He’s going to do it [because] people say he can’t do it.”
