Terence Crawford says his moving up essentially three weight classes to challenge Canelo Alvarez for what could be an undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13th would make him another Henry Armstrong.
(Credit: Melanie Pizano/Matchroom)
Crawford feels that his moving up to 168 to challenge Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KO) for his belts without having set foot in the division will prove his greatness “when” he defeats him.
A lot of fans aren’t too keen on the idea of Canelo giving Crawford a free title shot without him fighting at least one top contender to earn the right to challenge for his belts.
Canelo already did this once, defending against 154-pounder Jermell Charlo in 2023. Alvarez ignored then top contender David Benavidez to defend against Jermell, who was given the shot without fighting anyone in the division. The fight was a total mismatch.
Henry Armstrong’s Legacy
Armstrong (152-22-9, 101 KOs) fought from 1931 to 1945 and was known for his aggressive, relentless fighting style. Crawford fights nothing like Armstrong. The two share nothing in common besides being multiple-division world champions. If Crawford fought the way Armstrong did, he’d have been a lot more popular early on in his career. The way Crawford fought has been more of a careful counter-puncher, fighting a lot like a bigger version of Shakur Stevenson. The guys Crawford has knocked have either been average or old and washed.
“I already look at myself as an all-time great, but to move up essentially three weight classes to dethrone a soon-to-be undisputed 168 champion without even stepping foot in that weight class or the weight class before [160] is like some Henry Armstrong stuff,” said Terence Crawford to Monouk Akopyan about him going up from 154 to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his titles.
Armstrong was a far better fighter than Crawford and a lot more ambitious. Comparing himself to Armstrong is a disservice to him. Armstrong wasn’t taking a year off between fights and skipping the best the way Crawford has done. If Armstrong were around today, he would be fighting all the time and wouldn’t be sticking to the once-a-year schedule that Crawford keeps.
“It’s going to be amazing. They never say you see a small, great guy beat a great, big guy,” said I want to change that narrative,” said Crawford.
Canelo is an old 34, and he’s not “great” at this point in his career. Those three fights against Gennadiy Golovkin took a lot out of Alvarez, and he’s looked faded since his loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022. Canelo has been cherry-picking ever since his loss to Bivol, fighting John Ryder, Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, and a washed-up GGG.
“Sugar Ray Robinson and Ali, I don’t think those two spots will ever be taken,” said Crawford about his belief those two are the top pound-for-pound all-time greats and that he would be #3 if he defeats Canelo.
Crawford can call himself #3 all-time great pound-for-pound, but he wouldn’t be recognized as such by fans. For fans who have no clue about the sport, they might buy into the idea of Crawford being ranked that high, but there are so many fighters from the past with better resumes than his.
It would be a joke to put Crawford above the many fighters who have done far more in their careers. Winning titles is nice, but it means nothing when the guys you’re beating are either old or nothing special.
Crawford’s World Title Wins:
Israil Madrimov
Jeff Horn
Errol Spence: *post 2019 car crash
Thomas Dulorme
Ricky Burns
Ray Beltran
Viktor Postol
Julius Indongo
