Crawford v Alvarez

Good analysis, but I would have to disagree with a couple things. This sport we love is not all about who hits harder as much as it's about who can use their own strengths to neutralize what their opponent does well.

The obvious tells us that Canelo is stronger, but we've also seen him have A LOT of problems handed to him by a boxer that is the same size as Crawford, not as strong, not as sharp, and clearly doesn't have the same IQ. That fighter is Amir Khan. He gave Canelo 4 rounds of hell before getting clipped. We've also seen Canelo get badly outboxed by another former lightweight and IQ heavy fighter by the name of Floyd Mayweather.

I highly doubt Crawford is coming into this fight thinking he's just going to physically throw Canelo around. And he is on record for saying he doesn't go into the fight looking for a KO....he does the work round to round and if the KO is there, he'll take it.

And from personal experience, I've seen Crawford spar cruiser and heavyweights. I have footage of him sparring a former UFC striker by the name of Houston Alexander. Clearly, he's not the boxer that Canelo is but has every bit of power that Canelo would bring and Crawford sparred him during his campaign at 135lbs.

That doesn't mean much other than to just point out that Crawford isn't going to be some pushover that many Canelo fans predict he will be. You say he's not middleweight strong. According to what? I pray you aren't basing that assessment off the Madrimov fight. A fighter who respected Crawford's power so much that he chose not to engage with him for half the fight and then was hurt 4x when he decided to exchange with him. There's video showing Crawford deadlift 455lbs in street clothes. He's every bit as strong as Errol Spence Jr. and the talk was that Spence handled the Charlo bros regularly in their sparring sessions.... The same Charlo whom Canelo went the distance with.

I'll also point out that Crawford isn't as flat foot as many of the opponents Canelo has been in the ring with recently. Canelo doesn't pursue many fighters who will bring a slick style to ring. A fighter who utilizes angles and footwork heavy in their defense and attack.

I think the match up is closer than you predict. Maybe a 60/40 in Canelo's favor, but hell, that's why we need to see the fight.

 

Yea, "gave him hell" is a bit of an exaggeration on my end....lol. Gave him issues is more realistic. Of course none of us knew Khan could sustain that for 12 rounds. Most of us knowledgeable fans were surprised it took that long for Canelo to catch him. A year later, we saw Crawford take all of 120 seconds to have him fully figured out.

Bud isn't facing the same guy Khan did?..... Canelo isn't drastically different from that day. Canelo will not outbox Crawford. He's going to simply go in and try to use his size and strength to gain an upper hand. Similar to just about every naturally bigger fighter Crawford has faced throughout his career. Crawford is a master counter puncher. If he decides to go "gorilla" as you say, that will play into what Crawford does best. As we saw how going "gorilla" worked for fighters like Shawn Porter & Felix Diaz. 2 opponents who found out coming downhill on Crawford was a quick way to get an early ticket out of the fight.

I guess I just find it hilarious to hear people claim they are knowledgeable of the sport and everything it takes to be successful and then immediately make it seem as though a fighter of the caliber of Crawford has zero chance to compete against Canelo when we seen individuals less talented find some success vs him. And it's not like Crawford hasn't proven doubters wrong time and time again. Khan and Gamboa was supposed to be too fast for Crawford. Prescott & Burns were supposed to be too experienced for Crawford. Horn & Benavidez were supposed to be too big for Crawford. Porter & Madrimov were supposed to be able to overwhelm Crawford. Spence and Brooks were supposed to have too much strength and skill in their arsenal for Crawford to handle. Hell people even claimed Crawford was avoiding Postol & Indongo for some reason.....All of this was said prior to Crawford facing these opponents only for those same doubters to come up with every excuse as to why Crawford was able to handle each of those fighters and make it look easy in most cases.

Now I'm not saying Crawford does the same to Canelo. Hell, I'm not even saying Crawford wins the fight as none of those individuals are of the same level as Canelo as a fighter, but is more than capable of competing in this bout. And he deserves this opportunity than Amir Khan, Jermell Charlo, and Errol Spence Jr......3 other fighters whom were in a division 2/3 lower than Canelo's but people were more comfortable believing they would be able to compete....some even thought that Charlo/Spence would win.

 

Yea, Canelo is the king of catchweight, but I think Crawford has said that he wants it to be at 168.

I'm okay with the lack of a "passing of the torch". I'm all for fighters creating their own legacy. Crawford went after a passing of the torch type fight for years with Manny Pacquaio and was denied and blocked....he went on to accomplish what no other male boxer had done before him.

Besides, these new fighters seem to build their legacy up on calling themselves a boogieman and/or the "Face of Boxing" without actually doing anything that warrants the claim.

 

That's fair, but as I stated....Bud is not new to fighting guys much bigger than him and he has an elite quality that can't be duplicated in his IQ. Exceptionally strong and he's not some little guy moving up. Crawford was draining himself to make welterweight. Even fighting Diaz, Crawford came in fight night at 160lbs. That was a 20lb difference from the weigh in the night before. He was heavier than Madrimov a few months ago as well who fought as high as 172lbs as an amateur. He also knows his ability more than you and I, as well as any other fan, so I'm sure if he didn't feel he had at least a 50% chance at competing, he wouldn't be trying to make the fight.

 

Crawford has a history of doing what many said he was incapable of doing. Canelo has a history the has moments of him either coming up short or being gifted a win (or draw) when he didn't deserve it.

Either way, I pray to God this fight gets made. Would love to see 2 of the most accomplished in the sport facing off for p4p supremacy.