David Banavidez and coach Abel Sanchez believe Terence Crawford made a mistake by not moving to 168 to fight before he challenged Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super-middleweight championship on September 13, 2025 at the Allegiant Stage in Las Vegas.
Sanchez says Crawford (41-0, 31 CO’s) did the “worst thing he could have done” by rising to the 190s and not feeding a few fights on the middleweight. WBC lights heavyweight champion Banavidez mentions that Crawford is in a ‘Buzzsaw’ walk by fighting Canelo (63-2-2, 39 COs) without any experience at 168.
Size and power problems
“To beat Canelo, you have to be able to take a shot and push him to make sure you keep him busy and backup,” coach Abel Sanchez said Fighting type When asked what Terence Crawford should do to defeat Canelo Alvarez on September 13.
Madrimov is fighting an eye opener
Crawford could not do so in his last fight against Israel Madrimov last year on August 3, 2024 at 154. ‘Little GGG’, as some fans call Madrimov, is not as powerful or as aggressive as Canelo. Madrimov backed up Crawford throughout the fight, and he took up a lot of punishment. It was an eye opener that Crawford handled for the first time and was marked around both eyes. He hit his ceiling of what he could do in his move to 154.
Canelo won Madrimov that battle. “For me, I think he (Crawford) lost the fight or (it was a) draw, or it could be the other side. He knows why weight classes are there (now), “Canelo told Dazn shortly after the fight.
“If you can’t push him back and be more effective with bumps than he’s, you’re not going to hit him,” Sanchez said about Canelo. “Guys like Biblical who could push him, stronger than him and keep activity on him, it’s the kind of guys who are going to beat him.”
The only two fighters that could consistently push Canelo back was Gennadiy Golovkin and Dmitri Biscolor. They had the pushchair to force Canelo back. Crawford is not such kind of puncher. Even with the weight of Terence, its power is not expected at the level of GGG. Bud is now bigger than Golovkin, but it still has to be seen whether he will have the kind of doll in his shots.
Tune-up battles were needed
“Terence, I don’t care if he’s rising to 200 pounds; He doesn’t have it in time to do it. If he had already fought three or four guys at that weight and built up his work ethic and built up his power by competing guys and beating guys at that weight (super middleweight), I could see it, ‘says Sanchez.
David Banavidez, WBC lights heavyweight champion, expresses the same thoughts as Abel about Crawford that makes a mistake of not watering his feet first by fighting tune-ups before facing Canelo for his undisputed championship.
Benavidez warns against ‘buzzsaw’
‘Weight classes are there for a reason. Crawford struggled with (Israil) Madrimov’s size and power at 154. To jump straight to 168 against Canelo, who has been comfortable there for years is a big risk. He needs a fight to feel the weight, or or He walks in a buzzing, ‘ Benavidez told Reddit about Crawford.
Terence struggled badly in his move to 154 in his last fight, and WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov adopted on August 3, 2024. Crawford’s bumps did not look as powerful in this weight class as at 147.
The shots that Madrimov landed, hit Crawford’s head all night and noticed him. Crawford made a 12-round decision, but it was close to two of the scorecards. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113. Fans on social media noted that Crawford did not look like Madrimov like the same fighter on 154 as in his two previous fights at 147 against Errol Spence and Shawn Porter.
Sanchez’s ‘worst thing’ criticism
“He is at the point he is, which in my opinion is the worst he could have done. I would have kept him at 170 pounds, the weight he was going to fight with, ‘Abel says about Crawford. “In this way he doesn’t have to lose anything. He can be as strong as he can be at that weight instead of what I understand, he is in the 190s. If he is in the 190s, he will have to fall to the high 160s. It doesn’t make sense to me, ‘says Sanchez.
The recent reports are that Crawford’s weight is in the middle of the 180s. It’s not far from the 190s Abel is talking about here. This is a lot of weight for an older fighter like 37-year-old Crawford who packed in for his fight against Canelo.
The idea is that Crawford will drop to 168 pounds the week of battle and then rehydrate in the 180s to have the size to compete against Alvarez. Crawford’s speed and mobility are two things that helped him navigate his career of 41 fighters without losing.
If he can slow down or not move well, his chances of defeating Canelo reduce. This is the weight class of Canelo, and he fought much larger fighters than Bud.
Last updated on 08/26/2025
