John Ryder says Terence Crawford must have stayed for two or three fights on 154 to get used to the weight before moving up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed Super Middleweight Championship on September 13.
The weight advantage for Canelo
Ryder believes that the weight will play a role in battle, with Canelo being too much of an advantage over Crawford. He thinks Bud should have fought at 154 and 160 before he rose to 168.
“I think the weight will be too much of a problem. Canelo is a special talent, and I think the weight will play a factor in battle,” John Ryder said Fight Hub TV. “I would like Crawford to be more in the middle and middleweight to build in it. But you use these opportunities when they come, and that’s what greatness is. ‘
After the problems Crawford had against Israil Madrimov, he and Turki Alalshikh chose not to fight any of the other talents at 154. You can see how he has the other young junior middle weights, such as Bakhram Murtazalisv, Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Age, size and inactivity trapped Crawford. If he stayed at 154 to build the weight class, as Ryder wanted him to do, he would have lost repeatedly. What moves to 160, it would have been worse for Crawford, and guys like Janibek Alimkhanuly, Carlos Adames and Erisland Lara fought.
It is not just size that would let Crawford undo. This is his inactivity. Fighting for five solid years once a year has taken a lot of his game, and if you contribute to his advanced age and lack of size, it’s too much.
Turki Alalshikh’s lifeline to Crawford
If not for Turki who threw Crawford a lifeline by giving him the Canelo fight, Crawford would probably have retired after the Madrimov match.
The “Silver Platter” Canelo event
It is a pity that Turki did not use his money on deserving fighters from the 168 pound division, such as Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli and Olseys Iglesias. Those fighters deserve to fight Canelo more than Crawford. He had to earn the fight by hitting them, rather than giving him the Alvarez fight on a silver dish just because Turki loves him.
“Yes, you build in it. She (Crawford) fight against Madrimov was his first fight at 154, ‘says Crawford. “He is still developing and growing to that weight. He could have done a few more there, and then moved up to 160. But it’s all done as a little hurry. ‘
Crawford was in a hurry for seeing the letter on the wall after getting a decision against Madrimov. He probably would have lost all these fighters:
– Bakhram Murtazaliev
– Erickson’s Lubi
– Sebastian Fundora
– Vergil Ortiz Jr.
– Jaron Ennis
– Serhii Bohachuk
– janibek alimkhnuly
– Erislandy Lara
– Carlos Adames
Boxing is a young man’s sport, and fighters who do not stay active have even more problems. Crawford couldn’t have stayed 154 a minute more than he did without his career tank. No way could have risen to 160 and mixed it with January, Lara or Adames. Although Crawford is younger than 42-year-old Lara, his inactivity makes him older, and he is not as big as he or so technically gifted.
Can Crawford retire to Canelo?
“So he is not going to fully tackle muscle and build up in the weight, and he will of course do so with the intention of coming back to 154 and tackle other challenges. It is not a long -term goal to stay there,” Ryder said.
We do not know if Crawford will return to the 154 pound division as he has not yet mentioned it. It is more likely that he will retire if he loses and does not get a re -broadcast with Canelo. It is on Turki Alalshikh. If he wants to subsidize Crawford’s career and keep him going with undeserved opportunities, he can continue to do so until the bottom falls out.
Last updated on 08/10/2025
