Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol believes Terence Crawford can move up two divisions to potentially dethrone WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in September.
(Credit: Melinza Pizano)
Bivol questions whether Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) can handle the power and weight of fighting in a division that is vastly different from the ones he’s been competing in. Crawford just moved up to 154 last August and just barely defeated WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov.
Part of the problem Crawford had in that fight was due to Madrimov’s excellent boxing skills, which were levels above anyone he’d ever fought previously during his long career. But the main problem was Crawford’s lack of power. His shots were nowhere near the level of Madrimov’s, and he looked like an average welterweight power-wise.
The last noticeable thing was Crawford’s age. He looked like a fighter in his late 30s, which he is. He’s nearing 38 in September, and boy, did he look it against Madrimov. It’s never easy for a fighter to move up two divisions, but to do it at 38 with no power or experience just doesn’t look good for Crawford.
Legacy or Loot?
We don’t know his true purpose in moving up to fight Canelo. Crawford says he’s doing it for “legacy,” but given that he’s chosen not to acclimatize himself in the weight class first, it seems obvious that it’s just about money. If you’re doing it for legacy, you want to move up and get experience first, and you want to stay in that weight class afterward.
Crawford has made it clear that he’s just moving up for the one fight against Canelo and then moving back down. This is just about money, then. If a fighter is just doing it for the sake of cash, you can’t expect them to win, especially if the going gets tough.
“My first reaction was the size of Crawford. Is it okay for him to move up two weight classes,” said Dmitry Bivol to Ring Magazine about his initial thoughts at learning Terence Crawford would be fighting unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in September.
“Then I saw him in Dubai a month ago. I thought, ‘He’s big,’ and he has very good skills. He’s able to win this fight. He needs to get used to the power and pressure of 168 because it’s a big difference [than 154 and 147]. Maybe he will get used to it and how he’ll be feeling. He’s able.”
