Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford negotiates for Alvarez’s three super middleweight titles at 168, with no rehydration clause, for September, Mexican Independence Day.
If the fight is made Canelo-Crawford, it could be for the undisputed if Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) faces IBF champion William Scull on Cinco de Mayo weekend in May. Canelo will be a heavy favorite against Scull to reclaim his IBF title.
Crawford has the size
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) hangs around in the 170s, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem for him to move up to 168 to challenge Canelo. The biggest problem Crawford will have is trying to win without going to war with Canelo. If Terence Canelo is just going to box, following the Mayweather blueprint, as his trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre has said he will, it’s not going to work to get a decision.
Canelo hits so much harder than Crawford that even if he takes more punches, the judges will focus on the bigger punches. That’s how Canelo beat Erislandy Lara, who is much bigger and stronger than Crawford, but he didn’t have enough pop in his punches to win a decision.
We don’t know Crawford’s real reason for wanting the Canelo fight. He says it’s about “legacy”, but he also mentions money and not wanting to move up to 168 to get a tune-up in the weight class. It’s fear on Crawford’s part. It just reveals that it’s about money for him. I feel it’s all about wealth for him because if he really believed he would go up in weight to super middleweight to show he can compete in this division by beating one or two of the top dogs.
Since he doesn’t, it makes it clear that Crawford just wants the retirement payday against Canelo. That’s good. You blame the hustle and bustle. If Turki is willing to give Crawford the dough, that’s on him, but a lot of fans feel stupid and ripped off afterwards for wasting their money on a Jermell Charlo 2.0 type mismatch. Crawford isn’t even as big or as strong as Jermell. he’s definitely not as young as Jermell was when he fought Canelo, Terence will be 38 by the time he fights Canelo in September.
So it doesn’t matter if he loses. It’s all gravy for him for the rest of his life from the profit undeserved payday Crawford gets in a losing effort against Canelo. He can eat caviar and drink from a glass with his for the rest of his life little finger in the airspeaks with an affected fake British accent of the upper crust in the American society of the super rich.
Keyshawn’s Crawford Crusade
“How much do they count out Terence,” Keyshawn Davis said MillCity Boxing on what he disagrees with about the perception fans have of his gym buddy and good friend, Terence Crawford not having a chance against Canelo Alvarez in September.
“How big is Canelo compared to Terence, and they’re going to say he has no chance because of his size. You can box him and still KO him,” Keyshawn said when asked if Crawford could knock Canelo out or if he would try to box his way to a decision win.
“Anyone can get KO’d in there. I’m not going to count him out for KO’ing Canelo, but boxing him will definitely win him over. Me, put me on that card in the co-main. I don’t care, put me on that card. I’m going to be a world champion (Keyshawn hopes),” Davis said.
Keyshawn shouldn’t let his friendship with Crawford blind him from seeing the fight for what it is. He doesn’t knock Canelo out. He will be too busy running away from him after tasting his power early. Crawford almost lost his last fight in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov on August 3 last year. His strength didn’t pick up from 147, and his face was battered by the end of the fight. Madrimov confused him, and he was lucky to get the decision as the bigger, cleaner, more effective punches were landed by the champion.
Begging For A Place
“Yo, Turk (Al-Sheikh), put me on the card,” Keyshawn said, begging Turki to co-headline the Canelo vs. Crawford fight. ‘You know who I would want to fight. I would love to fight Isaac Cruz. I don’t know why. I just feel to me, and he will put on a good show. I just feel it will be an action packed fight. I would also like to fight ‘Rayo’ (Jose Valenzuela). I feel like both of those guys always come to fight.”
It’s too late for Keyshawn to fight Isaac Cruz because he’s already up next with Ryan Garcia. He’s not going to fight Keyshawn and be wrestled to the ground.
“I would love to fight both of those guys, and they’re both at 140. We don’t have to fight for the belt,” Keyshawn said. “We could only fight. Let’s fight, and both of those guys have losses. So, it’s not like they’re ducking or running to avoid losing their O’s. I’m sure not ducking to lose any O (Note: Keyshawn refuses to fight Andy Cruz, who beat him four times). I just want to fight.
“Win, lose or draw, I make millions of dollars. I don’t care. I sure would love to fight those two guys. I would love to fight those guys. Just an action packed fight. Both of us are not giving up ground, trying to control the center of the ring. We’re both trying to get ahead,” Keyshawn said when asked how a fight between him and the 5’4″ Isaac Cruz would go.
“I’m going to keep throwing them. I’m not saying I’m going to fight this guy in the middle of the ring, bro. You saw me fight Miguel Madueno (with a lot of grappling, picking up Madeuno, using a lot of jabs and rabbit stomps) on the back foot the whole fight Some rounds I was going forward, and some rounds (most) I was going backwards go All I’m saying is (the recently beaten) Isaac Cruz would be an action-packed fight, and I feel like it would be great for the sport of boxing,” Davis said.
Keyshawn needs to put a sock in it. Isaac Cruz has bigger fish to fry, negotiating a mega-money fight against superstar Ryan Garcia on Turki Al-Sheikh’s card in May at Times Square in Manhattan, New York. Cruz isn’t going to waste time on Keyshawn Davis, fighting for chum change, and will likely wrestle all night in an ugly, dirty fight.
If Keyhawn is looking for a fight, he needs to get some courage and face his four-time conqueror Andy Cruz to try and avenge at least one of his losses to the talented Cuban. I don’t think Keyshawn will, but he needs to show that he’s not a fake.
No signed contracts yet, but boxing’s top star Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are set to meet on Mexican Independence Day weekend in September if all is said and done. And as Crawford has said all along, it would happen at 168 pounds with no rehydration clause. pic.twitter.com/Gw0DoA21uH
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 19, 2025
