Crawford “Can relieve” Canelo – Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford will beat Canelo Alvarez and “can make it a very easy fight” when they meet in September.

WBC lightweight champion Stevenson says he has said for years that he thinks Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will beat Canelo. Canelo says Canelo won’t be able to get through Crawford’s punches because he feels he can punch at “any weight class.”

Crawford did not look powerful in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov and failed to hurt him with his best shots. Madrimov looked like he was working more dangerously, and he wasn’t even bothering with the shots as usual.

“Easy job” for Bud?

“I’ve been saying this for years. I’m probably the first to say this, even before Terrence said this. “I always thought his (Crawford’s) style against Kanelo, I think he beat Kanelo,” Shakur Stevenson said. talkSport Boxing about his belief that Crawford will beat Canelo. “I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight, but he can make it very easy.”

“I bumped into Terence in Dubai, and he’s really fat. It has thickened recently. He is 38 years old,” said Gareth A. Davies on Crawford looking bigger. “He thickened.”

“That’s also another thing. I don’t think Canelo is going through his punches. “Terence can hit, and that goes for any weight class,” Shakur said.

As Shakur makes it sound, Crawford will stand in the pocket and go to war with Canelo in September. That’s not realistic, given how Crawford has traditionally struggled when facing punches. He tends to move around a lot, jabbing and jumping on punches.

Terence does not stay in one place and does not attack in all attacks. He fought Errol Spence aggressively, but that was because he was fighting a guy who was a shell of his former self after a car accident.

To adjust or not?

“It would be a little over a year (13 months). You have to be very careful if you want to fight above 160 pounds because that’s the new weight,” Chris Mannick said on his YouTube channel about Terence Crawford needing to be careful when tuning up to stay sharp for his September fight against Canelo Alvarez.

It’s doubtful Crawford will take any chances by competing against a super middleweight to get his feet wet before the Canelo fight in September. If Terence fights at a weight class, it will be in the bantamweight division, probably against a middleweight who weighs 163 or 164.

I could see Crawford fighting one of these middleweights at around 164: Aaron McKenna, Liam Smith, Austin Williams or Kirone Davis. Those guys aren’t a threat to beat Crawford, and they’re ranked low in the middleweight division.

“He’s only fought once at 154. I’m sure he can make weight. He’s a long guy. I’m sure he can fill out his frame well enough,” Mannix said of Crawford. “You have to be careful who you choose.” You can’t pick the puncher. You can’t pick someone really dangerous. You can’t risk that bread (to fight Canelo).

“Remember when Oscar (De La Hoya) fought Stevie Forbes before he fought Mayweather? Mannix said.

It would be a shock if Crawford took any set-up fights because he wouldn’t want to risk money to fight Canelo, and he’s comfortable fighting once a year.

Crawford hasn’t been active in five years, and he certainly won’t now that he’s on the verge of a career-high payout against Alvarez.