Andre Ward still believes Terence Crawford will defeat 168lb three-belt unified champion Canelo Alvarez despite his lackluster showing in his debut at 154 against ‘Little GGG’ Israil Madrimov on August 3rd. He was hit hard by the GGG clone in that fight.
Ward admits that he doesn’t believe the Canelo-Crawford fight will happen, and he’s right about that. Crawford has shown no willingness to move up to 168 to show he can coexist with the sharks in that weight division.
That lack of wanting to prove himself led to him forfeiting his chances to meet King Canelo. It takes courage and ambition for a fighter to prove himself.
The Proving fights Crawford at 168
- David Morrell
- David Benavidez
- Osley Iglesias
- Diego Pacheco
- Edgar Berlanga
Andre doesn’t give up on Crawford
Ward is behind the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), and believes he can beat Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) or anyone until they “prove” to him that he can be beaten — 11-fight rookie Madrimov came awfully close to defeating Crawford, losing a close 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.
Crawford’s performance showed that he was not physically designed to fight above the 147-lb division. He’s too small, weak and old to fight the talents at 154, and 168 would be an absolute disaster for Crawford.
Obviously, the money would be a cushion for the ego hit Crawford would take losing to the face of Canelo. The dough Crawford would make from the fight against Canelo would be salve for his wounded pride as he could cry all the way to the couch.
“I’m going with Terence Crawford. A big jump in weight, a dangerous fight, but somebody has to prove to me that they can break Terence Crawford’s will, and he can’t figure it out against you,” said commentator Andre Ward. Boxing Newsand picks Terence Crawford over Canelo Alvarez if the two fight.
Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, has already said that if Canelo agrees to a fight, the blueprint he will use is the one that Floyd Mayweather Jr. did by boxing and moving from the outside. In other words, Canelo will have to chase Crawford around the ring all night, and he’s not about to fight one of those safety-first types of guys at this stage of his career.
“That’s no disrespect to Canelo, but I’ve been saying that for the last few years. I’m not betting Terence Crawford against anybody right now. You have to show me you can beat him, but I don’t think we’ll get that fight,” says Ward.
It would help if Crawford shows that he is willing to fight David Benavidez, Artur Beteriev or Dmitry Bivol to show that he deserves a fight against Canelo.
