Kelvin Davis predicts that Terence Crawford is going to “beat up” and stop undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13th in their fight at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Crawford’s Competitive Edge
Davis is friends with Crawford and has sparred with him in the past. He notes that Terence is “competitive’ and tries to outdo his opponents in the ring with whatever they’re trying. That could backfire against Crawford if he chooses to slug with Canelo because he doesn’t possess Gennadiy Golovkin-like power or his chin.
He’s basically a welterweight who has put on weight to compete at super middleweight without any experience. Crawford is not young. He turns 38 in September, and looked his age in his last fight against Israil Madrimov last August. He almost lost.
“Canelo, he didn’t look too good [against William Scull]. I got Crawford all the way. I got Crawford beating up Canelo, especially after what I just seen,” said Kelvin Davis to Pro Boxing Fans, picking Terence Crawford to defeat Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.
Both Fighters Looked Flat
Alvarez and Crawford are in the same boat. Neither looked good in their last fights, and it was fortunate that they weren’t fighting better opposition. Of the two, Canelo’s win over William Scull was more conclusive. He still dominated despite not looking impressive. Crawford just barely beat Israil Madrimov by a 12-round unanimous decision, winning by the scores 115-113, 116-112, and 115-113. Of those scores, 115-113 was the more accurate.
Crawford’s Skills vs. Canelo’s Size
“Crawford has better overall skills. The only thing Canelo has over Bud is size. So, once Bud neutralizes his power and his size, I think Bud is going to take off that night and have a dominating performance. I saw them size up, and I don’t think it’s going to be that much of a factor.”
Canelo has size, power, youth, chin, and experience at 168. The 37-year-old Crawford has never fought at super middleweight and chose not to take a tune-up in that weight class for some reason. You can only conclude that Crawford was worried that if he looked poor or lost, Turki Alalshikh would change his mind about making the fight between him and Canelo. That’s what I would be thinking if I were Terence. I wouldn’t take a tune-up either at 168 or 160 because it would be too risky.
Davis Sees Crawford Stoppage
“So, with the performance Canelo just had and them two sizing up, I definitely got Terence all the way for sure. Yes, I think he can actually stop Canelo with a cumulative amount of punches, breaking him down throughout the rounds, and getting a late-round stoppage.”
Crawford would need to land a lot of punches to knock out Canelo, but he wouldn’t be able to do that because he’ll get clipped. Canelo isn’t going to be weight drained, coming off a 13-month layoff or a bad beating in his previous fight like Errol Spence was when he fought Crawford in 2023. Alvarez doesn’t let his weight get out of control between fights like Spence. So, he won’t be blowing up to 190+ like Errol did before he started camp for his fight with Crawford.
Risk of Trading with Canelo
“He’s a competitor. If I’m jabbing, he’s going to try to outjab me. If I’m throwing. If I’m throwing a left hand, he’s going to try to outdo everything I do. His best attribute is his competitiveness. So, he’s an all-around fighter. I can’t single out one specific thing. He’s a competitive, tough fighter,” said Kelvin about his friend Crawford.
Being a competitor could work against Crawford because he fights with anger and emotion. When he gets hit, he reacts in a predictable manner, wanting to hit back. Against a puncher like Canelo, it’s going to cause Crawford to get hit more than he should by a powerful fighter like this.
Even if Crawford lands more shots, Canelo’s power advantage will enable him to win rounds. Crawford already showed that his power didn’t carry up to 154 in his last fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd. Madrimov was the bigger puncher in that fight by a wide margin.
