Crawford did not look convincing in his last outing against Canelo. The size difference showed, but the problem went further. He struggled to impose himself, spent long periods of time reacting, and never built sustained control of the fight.
The fight before that against Israil Madrimov was closer than expected. Crawford had to work to settle into it, and there were rounds where Madrimov repeatedly nailed him with clean right hands. Crawford entered this fight with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.
Those two fights were intended to establish Crawford at the higher weights. Rather, they raised questions about how far that success extends once it leaves its natural range.
The opposition must also be considered. Crawford moved into a title fight at 154 without going through the other top names in the division. The same pattern showed at 168. He went straight to Canelo without facing the challengers needed to prove himself worthy of a title shot.
That approach matters when evaluating how good a fighter is at a new weight. Beating the top contenders usually answers those questions. Omitting it will render the answer incomplete.
Even the win over Errol Spence needs context. Spence hasn’t looked the same since his car accident in 2019. He came into that fight less than his earlier form, and the performance reflected that.
Crawford remains a high-level fighter, and his skills are still there. The recent run does not show that he functions above all other departments.
Ryan’s claim is aggressive. The direction of Crawford’s recent fights makes it easier to understand why he says this.
Whether Crawford responds is another matter. His trainer Bernie Davis has said he would like $100 million for a return, and that level of money is unlikely to materialize, especially after the muted response to the Canelo fight.
