Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford has the template to follow for him to defeat Canelo Alvarez in September, using the Mayweather blueprint created in 2013. The problem is that it was so long ago that using that approach may not help the soon-to-be 38-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs).
The 2013 Blueprint
Canelo is a lot bigger than he was when Floyd Mayweather beat him back then, and the outcome would be very different if that version of Floyd fought Canelo now. He wouldn’t be able to take the increased power from the size of Canelo.
Crawford only wants Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and doesn’t want to get any experience at super middleweight first to give himself a better chance of winning. He’s obviously afraid of what could happen if he took a tune-up at 168 and was blown out of the water. Would Turki Al-Sheikh change his mind about giving him the fight with Alvarez if he lost? Maybe.
Age & Inactivity
Bud could lose really badly if he fought a good super middleweight because he did not look good in his debut at 154 last August against Israil Madrimov. Age, inactivity, and a move-up in weight all reared their ugly heads, showing that Crawford is NOT the same fighter at junior middleweight as in the other weight classes.
“If Terence Crawford is going to have a fight again, and I look at the options on the table. There’s no one at 154 that he wants to fight. There isn’t,” said commentator Ade Oladipo to DAZN Boxing, talking about Terence Crawford being dialed into only wanting to fight Canelo Alvarez for legacy purposes.
“He doesn’t want to fight [WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian] Fundora. He’s not going to fight [WBC interim 154-lb champ] Vergil Ortiz. He’s not going to fight [Serhii] Bohachuk. These are not sexy names. These are names that aren’t going to get him out for a job.
“The only name he wants to fight is Canelo. So, I’m more closer to Crawford fighting him than not fighting him, and if Crawford is going to fight, then it has to be Canelo. But look, we’ll see. That’s a dream one for me. I think I said that on my wishlist for 2025. I said, ‘Crawford-Canelo.’
Crawford’s Four Division World Title Wins
- Ricky Burns – Lightweight
- Thomas Dulorme – Light welterweight
- Jeff Horn – Welterweight
- Israil Madrimov – Junior middleweight
“I think all the others will come true. I just want this one to come true. It’s a crazy fight. There’s almost too much weight between the two, but hey, this is boxing,” said Ade.
