Let's be honest: is Crawford really on Floyd's level?

He's not on that level, I agree, but how he will match with Nelo and how he might've matched up with Floyd are not going to be the end-all of that discussion by any means. There are too many factors here.

 

Crawford is very upright compared to Floyd, won't be seeing him going under any of Canelo's shots. different styles though and Floyd is one of the best defensive fighters ever so nobody is going to live up to him in that regard.

 

"On that Level"... Was Maidana on Floyd's level? Jose Louis Castillo? Both gave Floyd hell

 

Crawford doesn’t need to manipulate opponents, wait for them to get old, pick them off while they’re young, make them drop weight division.
He also doesn’t need his own judges, Ref’s or to employ illegal tactics like ducking below the belt line, putting his head through the ropes or blatantly using repeated elbows to get his wins.

No, Crawford isn’t on Mayweathers level he’s higher

 

The short answer is no.................

 

I don't think he needs to be on Floyd's level to beat Canelo. I'm not saying he will beat him either. Crawford and Floyd are two different fighters. Do I think from an overall skills standpoint Floyd is better? Yeah. But Crawford is a great fighter in his own right. I honestly think he's better than Forrest, Cotto and Quartey.

 

Floyd to Bud comparison is literally the new Ali to Tyson comparison.

2 great fighters from 2 different eras who dominated the competition that was put in front of them.

People always point out that Floyd was better defensively than Crawford so he's "head and shoulders" better than Crawford as if Crawford isn't well above average defensively himself. True, Crawford gets hit when he doesn't respect the power of his opponents and thus comes into the opponent to set the tempo of the action within the round. But lets not act like Floyd didn't get touched often as well in a few of his bouts. Castano, Sugar Shane, Zab Judah dropped him twice with both ruled as a slip. I mean, look at the damage done to Floyd in the Emmanuel Augustus fight...........

Offensively Crawford delivers better than Floyd, imo, but that's not a reason for me to say he's head shoulders better. Punch placement and counters what you expect from any high IQ fighter which is what both Floyd and Bud are. Crawford is just stronger due to his wrestling and football background.

This is a win/win or lose/lose conversation simply because nothing can be proven. It's all just one man's opinion/perspective vs the next.

The strongest argument for Floyd is the names he has on his resume..... Great..... But it's often ignored at what time in those opponents careers did Floyd fight them. The same argument is used at a different angle with Crawford. Going into a lot of Crawford's "supposed" big match ups, there's so much doubt that he would do as well as he ended up doing. Most notable are the Postol, Gamboa, & Spence fights in which Crawford was either said to be afraid, too small, not skilled enough, not strong enough, etc....and when Crawford did what he did to them, those names immediately discredited as being shells of their former selves, regardless of the fact that each were undefeated, ranked at the top of their divisions. 2 of them were top 5 p4p by The Ring Magazine.

Fact is, every fighter is or at least should be only measured up against his peers. The field he has to deal with. Tyson never beat a Sonny Liston, or a George Foreman, or a Joe Frazier.......but he's still marveled as one of the best HWs of all time. What he did was dominate the opponent in front of him like no one had before they stepped in the ring with him. Why can't this same standard be held for Crawford? Instead people go out of their way to discredit every single detail of that man's career and accomplishments

"Let's be honest".......Well being honest....... 10 world titles can't be given to any fighter. 3 Lineal championships can't be given to any fighter. 2 undisputed status in the 4 belt era can't be just given to any fighter. There's a certain work ethic. A certain amount of skill. A certain level of dominance that has to be displayed vs the field for this to be given to one man. Thus the reason he has 2 ESPY Awards under his belt. 3 Lineal Championships on his resume. Both Floyd and Crawford are highly complimentary of each other on an elite level...... 2 individuals who we would think, know something about this sport that they are participating in....... So how is it that a bunch of randoms who can't win a mind fight are so passionate at trying to prove that one or the other isn't worthy of the praise that another random fan may give them.......

To answer the question honestly.........Yes..... Crawford is on that level, thus he is able to do what he does......

 

Considering he rematched both Castillo and Maidana and clearly won those rematches, no

 

He's probably a shade below Floyd in terms of ability but then the vast majority of fighters are. Crawford would comprehensively beat Cotto and Forrest, and would nick a decision against Ike. He's more akin to guys like B-Hop and Ward in terms of pedigree and consistency.

 

Sure. Doesn't take away anything that in their first fights, many thought either win could have gone to the loser. Obviously Floyd is greater than Crawford. That's not up for debate. Doesn't mean Crawford could not have beaten him. I sure would not have counted him out.

 

It’s amazing how many people refute the idea that Crawfords resume is terrible for somebody ranked so highly p4p

 

It depends on the angle you're looking at it from. Are they both the best welterweights of their generation? Yes. Does this put them in a bracket with about 10 other ATGs? Absolutely. Prime Floyd 147 against Bud 147 would be a fantastic matchup, but I would bet on Floyd all day. I think Pacquiao at 147 knocks any version of Crawford out. Skill-wise, I would rank Floyd above Crawford. Bud doesn't have the names; the only thing they share is the inactivity in the latter stages of their career. The difference is that Floyd earned it by having about a dozen grade A wins on his resume, and Crawford has 1.

The fact that Crawford has become overconfident on the back of this is what has me picking Canelo; he has never fought anyone on Canelo's level, especially not someone who is naturally much bigger than him, and his team seems to be buying into this ridiculous idea that it's going to be an easy fight against a plodder.