When it comes to prizefighting, it doesn’t get any bigger than the “Fight of the Century.” That’s what the highly anticipated showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford is being billed as, and who could blame anyone for calling it that?
Consider: In the current Ring Magazine pound-for-pound rankings, undefeated Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is No. 3 and Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) is No. 8. Each man has held a title in four divisions, including two-time undisputed champion status – Alvarez twice at super middleweight (168 pounds), and Crawford at both super lightweight (140) and welterweight (147).
Saturday’s fight, which takes place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and streams on Netflix, is scheduled for 12 rounds and will be for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight championship, meaning the onus will be on Crawford to adapt as he’s never competed at 168.
It’s a bold move for Crawford to move up two weight classes in hopes of knocking off one of boxing’s all-time greatest fighters, but will it pay off? Below is a collection of expert and fighter predictions for Canelo vs. Crawford.
Teddy Atlas
“Before this fight was made and when it was only vaguely proposed, well, a lot of people poo-poo’d it. ‘No, Crawford is too small. Forget about it, it doesn’t make sense.’ When it was going through those times, I didn’t hesitate. I said Crawford. I’m not changing now.”
“I don’t know if (being patient) will serve (Alvarez) with Crawford, who’s moving up in weight, who’s faster, who can maneuver, use his legs. I know he’s 37, but he’s not used up. He doesn’t have a lot of miles on the odometer.”
“I like him not only because of the physical attributes I talked about, but because of the intangibles, the mental traits. He’s got great timing. He’s ice water in there. He doesn’t get affected emotionally. He’s got great eyes. He’s laser-like with his eyes and his timing. Mentally, he doesn’t believe he can get beaten.”
(via “THE FIGHT”)
Jim Lampley
“You’re not gonna beat Canelo until somehow over a long period of time Canelo beats himself. … My guess is he will retire without incurring another loss because it’s important for him to do that. I do like him against ‘Bud’ Crawford, but I do think it’s a great fight. … ‘Bud’ Crawford, to me, is a latter-day Sugar Ray Robinson. He has multiple skills of Sugar Ray Robinson. He can defend or attack. He has a deep inner mean streak that he can employ at any moment in a fight to get what he wants.”
(via “Boxing with Mannix and Mora”)
Mike Tyson
“I want Crawford to win, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I would like for it to happen, [but] this guy [Alvarez] is a hard puncher, he’s a smart fighter. I want to see it.”
(via “The Big Podcast”)
Keith Thurman
“Victory comes in preparation. The only way ‘Bud’ Crawford even gets close to winning is through the preparation. If he truly wants to win, what you will see within the first opening half is him working behind the jab. If he does not work behind the jab, he is not geared for the tactical approach, and the only other approach is the Hail Mary. … The funny thing is, with the extra body weight, is he agile? Is the footwork gonna be able to move, move, move, still use the ring, and as those later rounds, as the pressure continues … the other thing, too, is Canelo lost a little bit of his bite. He hasn’t been tremendously devastating and taking people out. That reestablishes the fight and is in ‘Bud’ Crawford’s favor there. It’s what boxing’s all about, man. The one who really wants it is the one who’s gonna win. I know ‘Bud’ wants it, he’s from my generation, he’s a true American, I’m in his corner, I wish him the best of luck, but I don’t doubt Canelo. I don’t doubt what Canelo’s capable of.”
(via “Boxing with Mannix and Mora”)
