Abel Sanchez rejects Crawford vs. Canelo: A “Ridiculous Fight”

Former trainer Abel Sanchez says Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford is a “ridiculous fight” because the Nebraska native hasn’t improved since moving up to 154.

Crawford’s stagnation

Sanchez feels that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is the same fighter he was at 140 and 147. That’s not going to get the job done, moving up to 168 to beat Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) for his unified super middleweight titles.

Fans are no longer interested in that matchup after watching the 36-year-old Crawford debut on Aug. 3 against Israil Madrimov at 154. As Sanchez says, Crawford looked the way he did at 147, and his power didn’t carry over to the 154-lb division.

He was underpowered for the division, and the only reason he won was because Madrimov gassed out in the championship rounds. Had Madrimov kept throwing, he would have beaten Crawford and permanently ended his dreams of a Canelo payday.

“It’s a ridiculous fight. Crawford is a great fighter, but he wasn’t a fighter other than 140 and 147,” former trainer Abel Sanchez said. KO Artist Sportand discuss whether Terence Crawford could go up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his unified super middleweight championship.

A mismatch from the start

It’s always been a “ridiculous fight” idea for Crawford to jump up two divisions to fight Canelo after just one bout at 154. Without Crawford showing any ambition to move up to 168 to prove himself against David Benavidez and David Morrell, this was always just a fantasy-level business fight between him and Canelo. It would make money, but it wouldn’t be sporty.

“He’s still the same fighter. He hasn’t changed anything to make him viable in different ways. Canelo did. Crawford did not destroy his opponents. He destroyed one (Errol Spence), who was a shell of himself, but Canelo destroyed everyone he fights. Crawford is not and at a lower weight. It’s a good money fight,” says Sanchez.

Crawford looked like the same fighter against Madrimov as he had been against Errol Spence a year earlier, but the difference was that he wasn’t fighting a wasted shell of a fighter. Madrimov wasn’t burnt out, weight drained, inactive, old or exhausted from a terrible car wreck. Crawford’s win over Spence fooled a lot of people into believing he was better than he was.