Shane Mosley expects Terence Crawford to be competitive against superstar Canelo Alvarez in the early rounds of their battle on September 13. Alvarez’s size will take over, leading to a win for him.
Crawford (41-0, 31 food) gets a straight title shot without working for it against the undisputed super-middleweight champion Canelo (63-2-2, 39 COs) on September 13 at the Allegiant Stage in Las Vegas.
The skepticism around the lump
Terence, 37, comes two weight classes from 154 to 168 to challenge Canelo. The weight jump is one of the most important factors why fans are skeptical of Crawford’s chances of winning. His inactivity for a year outside the ring and his age makes it harder for people to see him as a legitimate chance to win.
The supporters who remember Canelo’s victory over former undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo from two years ago on September 30, 2023, see Crawford in a similar light, but older, weaker and smaller than Jermell.
Mosley’s battle forecast
“I see that Crawford has a good fight for the first four rounds, but then I see that Canelo slowly commands and wins,” the former three-division world champion Shane Mosley said Fight Hub TV. “He’s too big. He is (Crawford) very brave and does all the right things. I think Canelo is too big. ‘
As Mosley points out, Canelo’s size will be too much for Crawford. The Omaha, Nebraska, only fought one one at 154 after rising from 147 a year ago on August 3, 2024, and he did not shine in his fight against Israil Madrimov. It was not the 24k gold that fans became accustomed to seeing from Crawford. Blame it at age, inactivity or the weight string; It wasn’t the same lump as people saw in the past.
Covalev on the weight jump
“Terence Crawford, I think he’s the best pound-by-pound fighter. He can beat Canelo, but I don’t know how he’ll be comfortable in this section,” said former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. ‘It’s too big (from a weight jump from 154 to 168). He will (Crawford) be slower, because he will be bigger. ‘
The weight that Crawford has gained, and she decides not to take one or two warm -up fights at 168, will make it difficult. Crawford fans believe his fair sparring against larger fighters in training camp is enough and the same counts as in a real fight. However, there is a difference between the use of sparring partners and a leading contender at Super Middle Weight, such as Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbilli or Osley Iglesias.
Of course, Crawford probably wouldn’t have used any of the fighters at 168, as it would have been too risky. It is at high-level contenders who would even give Canelo problems.
“It’s not good for Crawford, but I can see that he can win with points. Canelo will be like (covered), his hands rise. Crawford is very fast and very smart, but in its weight division. No one knows how he will feel on the middleweight. If he is in shape, he will say Canelo, ‘says Kovalev.
A dubious last performance
Sergey leaves Crawford and does not have to be hit by Canelo, as he took very heavy shots on August 3, 2024 in his last battle against Israil Madrimov. Although Crawford surpassed Madrimov 95 to 84, he hit the harder, cleaner shots in each round.
This made it difficult to choose a winner, as Crawford only exceeded Madrimov by 11 strokes. It wasn’t enough to see the harder bumps of Madrimov. However, the judges who worked the fight gave the victory to Crawford anyway, with a unanimous decision of 12 round, with a scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.
If Canelo can land almost as often as Crawford, Terence will be difficult to win the decision without the judges overlooking the power of Alvarez’s shots.
Last updated on 09/01/2025
