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Coach Stephen Edwards believes Terence Crawford has sufficient dimension, energy, conditioning, and technical abilities to maneuver as much as 168 and defeat unified tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Edwards thinks that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) couldn’t beat David Benavidez, David Morrell, Artur Beterbiev, or Dmitry Bivol. These guys are too huge and too technical for the 37-year-old Crawford. However the 34-year-old Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is beginning to present indicators of age, and he’s beatable for Crawford.
Weak Champion
Canelo will flip 35 on July 18th, and he’s didn’t knock out his final six opponents. His final knockout got here three years in the past towards Caleb Plant on November 6, 2021.
The Mexican star has not indicated that he’s going to struggle Crawford, and he gained’t comply with the match until he feels he can win. His internet price is estimated at $250 million. So, no matter cash Turki Alalshikh may provide Alvarez wouldn’t entice him to take the Crawford struggle until he needed it. He’s already received sufficient dough to dwell wealthy for 20 lifetimes, and he can proceed to make many thousands and thousands per struggle, taking simple opposition.
“Yes, I think he can go up to 168 and fight certain people. Do I think he can fight Benavidez or Morrell? No, they’re too big, too skilled, and too tall. That would be a lot to overcome,” stated Stephen Edwards to Fighthype, speaking about Terence Crawford being too small to struggle Benavidez or Morrell at tremendous middleweight.
“Canelo comes from the smaller weights and is similar top as Crawford. I really suppose Crawford is a bit of taller. Crawford’s arms are method longer, and he has the a lot better gasoline tank. I’ve by no means seen Crawford drained.
“Canelo let’s guys off the hook nowadays that when he was on his best run, he would normally stop them. Now, he’s letting them off the hook because he doesn’t have that extra push in his gas tank. If Bud fought Canelo at 168, Bud would be full of calories. He would be able to eat whatever he wanted to eat at any time of day,” stated Edwards.
Crawford is getting fairly outdated, too, at 37, and he nearly misplaced his debut at 154 towards Israil Madrimov on August third. He gained’t have the ability to win rounds towards Canelo with the weak pictures he was touchdown towards Madrimov. These punches regarded weak in comparison with when he was combating at 147, 140 and 135.
The judges will give Canelo the rounds towards Crawford, even when he’s outworked. If Canelo’s pictures are a lot tougher, he’ll win the rounds. Crawford doesn’t hit as laborious as Jermell Charlo or Erislandy Lara, and people guys have been overmatched power-wise towards Canelo.
Genius At Work?
“His energy levels would be off the hook. He’ll probably come into the ring at 159 or 160 lbs. There’s no need to come in at 168 just because that’s the weight limit. He needs to be fast in that fight,” stated Edwards about Crawford.
“I told him [Crawford], ‘That fight you fought that night [against Viktor Postol at 140, eight years ago on July 23, 2016], that’s the fight that could beat Canelo.’ He kind of smiled. I think Bud is a genius, and sometimes, when you’re a genius, you don’t know you’re a genius. He has the ability to make adjustments in fights.”
The struggle towards Viktor Postol was a very long time in the past when Crawford was 28 years outdated. He’s now 37, and he doesn’t look as younger, quick, or cellular as he was within the Postol struggle. Crawford has aged. So, evaluating this model of Crawford to the one which fought Postol to make use of as an argument for why he’ll beat Canelo is mindless. That model of Crawford now not exists.
That was one other particular person. If he have been a monstrous puncher like Artur Beterbiev, it wouldn’t be an enormous deal that Crawford is now not as younger as he as soon as was. He’s not an enormous puncher and wins his fights on velocity, reflexes, and boxing abilities. That’s not going to be sufficient at his present bodily state to beat Canelo, and the judges gained’t do him any favors.
“I don’t think he can beat guys like Bivol and Beterbiev. I think that’s too much, but Canelo,” stated Edwards. “He’s an incredible fighter, however my eyes inform me he’s slowing down a bit. The Canelo that fought Berlanga. Three years in the past, Canelo would knock Berlanga out. That’s not a struggle. That’s a public execution.
“The fact that he let Berlanga go the distance. He let Munguia go the distance. He let Charlo go the distance. Bud’s movement, conditioning, and strength. Bud is a lot stronger than people realize. I’m not saying he’s stronger than Canelo. He’s strong enough. It’s not a weigh-lifting contest,” stated Edwards.
