Terence Crawford seemed in denial in reacting to Canelo Alvarez pointing out on Monday that’s fought one important name, Errol Spence, during his career.
Instead of agreeing with Canelo and saying he’ll try to fix that problem in the next year by fighting the bigger names, Crawford said that it’s “delusional” and “Crazy.”
Canelo has nothing to gain in fighting Crawford because he fights three divisions below him, his resume is lacking, and he won’t receive massive credit for beating him.
Whether Crawford wants to hear Canelo’s words or not, he’s saying that he hasn’t earned the right to fight him.
Crawford could easily fix that next year by fighting these guys:
– Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
– Tim Tszyu
– Brian Mendoza
– Janibek Alimkhanuly
– Carlos Adames
– David Benavidez
– David Morrell Jr.
– Caleb Plant
– Demetrius Andrade
– Dmitry Bivol
“I respect Crawford. He’s a very talented fighter, but he just won one big fight. If you see his record, he’s just beaten one good fighter. Other than that, I don’t think he’s beaten other great fighters,” said Canelo to TMZ Sports about Terence Crawford not having a good career resume beyond his one fight against Errol Spence Jr.
Win-win for Crawford fighting Canelo
“Everybody wants to fight Canelo because that’s the money fight,” said trainer Joel Diaz to Fight Hub TV about Terence Crawford wanting to fight Canelo Alvarez after his rematch with Errol Spence Jr.
“Let’s put it this way. If Terence Crawford gets a fight with Canelo, it’s a win-win fight for him because he’s going to make money, and if he loses, come on. He’s a 147-pounder. He went up three divisions to fight Canelo.
“If he loses, he doesn’t lose anything. He tried. It’s like when [former lightweight] Mikey Garcia fought Errol Spence. He went to 147. If he would have beat Errol Spence, he would have been a superstar, but he didn’t.
“If you watch after the fight, who got more comments, who got more credit? Mikey Garcia. Why? Because Errol Spence couldn’t knock him out. Errol Spence couldn’t knock out a 130-pounder. That’s what it is.
“It’s a very beneficial fight for Terence Crawford if he fights Canelo. It’s a great fight, but it’s a win-win for Terence Crawford. It’s a lose-lose [for Canelo]. If he beats him, you beat a 147-pounder.
“Going back in Canelo’s career, when he fought [welterweight] Amir Khan [in 2016], you saw the difference. His power. Canelo is strong, and Canelo is heavy-handed. One punch can change everything. Even though Terence Crawford is slick, he’s smart; one punch can change a fight due to the weight.
“Yeah, if he plays it smart. He has to play it like Mayweather did,” said Diaz when asked if the smaller Crawford can use his speed & skills to defeat Canelo. “Mayweather went in there against Canelo and basically outsmarted him.
“You got to outsmart Canelo. You can’t stand in there and bang with Canelo because Canelo has power in both hands. He’s slick & powerful. Even though he’s not a big fighter, he carries dynamite in both hands, and that’s the benefit of Canelo, and it doesn’t benefit Terence Crawford.
“Terence Crawford needs to be smart, outbox Canelo, make him miss, hit him and move, and try not to exchange with him because if he does, he can get hurt round by round.
Canelo’s pressure will break Crawford
“Canelo will apply pressure, and he will break him down slowly as the rounds go due to the weight difference. Terence is smart, and he has a lot of confidence. That’s one thing that Terence Crawford has, a lot of confidence.
“He believes he can beat Canelo. I give a lot of credit to Terence Crawford for thinking that, but he needs to be in the ring with a Canelo Alvarez to know what Canelo is about. Canelo is very, very explosive. He can hit you with any punch.
“Plus, Canelo can frustrate you with his movement. When he’s there, you throw, and he’s in control of his defense, and when he retaliates, he retaliates with bad intentions, and that’s when you’re, ‘Oh, s**t, this is for real. Canelo is really powerful.’
“Every fighter that he’s been in the ring with, they’ve felt that power from Canelo, and that’s what changes their mentality,” said Diaz.
