Crawford admits he will be slower

Why would he make the choice to trade speed for power? Like he, or anybody, is knocking out Canelo? To make Canelo being knocked out a remote possibility would take something like Canelo moving up to fight Beterbiev at 175 and then Canelo having a horrible night while Beterbiev somehow turns back the clock and puts on a career best performance. And even THEN, it probably takes an extended beating. Canelo at 168 is like a George Chuvalo or Oliver McCall.

Crawford's team has to know he's winning this one on the cards or not at all. What do I know, but I'd think better to maximize his speed and stamina.

 

All depends on how canelo fights. I think if he's smart he's gonna fight real defensive. He's not pressing crawford like he did charlo.

 

Some 10 extra pounds of muscle will also help him absorb punches better and that must be part of the equation. Because I agree that the increase in power alone isn't enough to make up for loss in speed, stamina and agility. Not against someone he's not going to maka a dent in anyway.

 

Punching harder isnt an advantage against Canelo… He has ATG defense and an ATG chin when stuff gets through….imo.

 

Slower than his previous self, but not incredibly slower than current Canelo. It's for his added power and inertia, to deter Canelo.

 

My exact thought. Speedy guys have been proven to give Canelo hassles in the past. Mayweather and Khan both showcased this. I know Canelo is older now, but if a battleship-salvo-firing boxing equivalent like Golovkin can't KO or even drop Canelo, what are the chances Crawford can? Crawford should be looking to win on points and doing so comfortably. Trading with Canelo will not work out well for him I am thinking.

 

fair point

 

But tbf, putting on mass has been the recipe even for speedy fighters like SRL and RJJ when they moved up. And Hagler of course had one of the all time great chins. Since Spinks this has been the method for fighters moving up two weight classes. Some times it's been succesful, some times it hasn't.

 

Was that the same dude that got spooked when crawford stood on the ropes after he dropped his boy and said you're next! Guy took a big money fight rather then get whooped by crawford. Charlo is a club fighter compared to crawford.

 

If canelo presses he's gonna run into alot of shots he doesn't see. To the body aswell.

 

i honestly dont think they know what they got themselves into. doing well in sparring against much bigger guys means little when youre talking elite level. in a real fight, at real fight speed, elite guys are on another level. thats why they are elite.
buds advantage is his speed and mobility. if he can dictate a fight that favors his advantages, he has a chance. his disadvantage against the bigger man is durability and power. it appears they are trying to shorten that gap. but by doing so they are also shortening the gap between themselves and canelos speed and mobility. and itrs not like there was some wide gap in speed and mobility between the 2. canelo is still plenty fast and can still cut off the ring extremely well. and you cant train your jaw to take harder shots, because your on-off buttons are inside your skull.
i thnk they chose the wrong strategy. i think i would have focused him on mobility. to be able to step quickly so he can get canelo out of position in order to use his timing and accuracy without the danger of a canelo fully loaded counter. if hes planning on trading with canelo like hes done with most of his past opponents, hes gonna change his mind about that real early in the fight. then whats he gonna do?

 

Ahhh I can kinda see why. Who can beat Canelo on the cards lol. Criminal judges had Bivol barely winning. If he had taken his foot off the gas or took a round off it woulda been a Draw.
I think I had Canelo winning 2 or 3 rounds total yet all 3 judges had him winning the first 4 rounds IIRC.
Sucks when one fighter is so popular and / or the judges are corrupt or incompetent that you have to adjust your whole style away from what has worked. All because barring an act of God, you know you will get screwed on the scorecards.
It’s a shame.

 

Crawford should be coming in at around 160 for this fight, he isn't ever gonna win any kind of power battle so don't give up any advantages