Crawford Faces Major Hurdles Against Canelo

Terence Crawford will box Canelo Alvarez on September 12 in an Undisputed Super Middleweight Title clash, as we look at the hurdles he will have to overcome. 

Crawford is a two-weight undisputed champion, having cleaned up at 140 and 147 pounds. He is undefeated with a 41-0 record, having overcome Israil Madrimov in his last fight to become the WBA Junior Middleweight Champion. The victory made him a champion in a fourth weight class as Crawford will go down as one of the best fighters ever. 

However, he is chasing elite-level status by attempting to become undisputed in three weight divisions. He will jump up two weight classes from 154 pounds to pull off one of the biggest wins of all time. He faces serious question marks over whether he can pull it off. The difference in weight will prove a challenge. Jermell Charlo, who is the former Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion, attempted the same when he moved up two weight classes in 2023. However, his speed and his power were not on show, as Canelo won a comfortable unanimous decision.

Crawford’s Hurdles

Crawford has not had any tune-up fights at 160 or even 168, suggesting that it is a mammoth risk. Crawford also showed he could be hurt in his last fight against Madrimov. Crawford was marked up in a fight where Eddie Hearn felt the scorecards were wider for Crawford than they should have been. If Canelo were to land similar punches like he did against Billy Joe Saunders, where he broke his orbital bone, Crawford could be in for a long night. 

Crawford also showed that his power may not translate to 168 pounds. Bud had stopped all of his opponents at 147 pounds, including Errol Spence Jr. However, when he moved up to 154 pounds, his punches were not able to keep Madrimov off him. It is also important to note that Canelo has never been dropped in his career.

He has faced some of the biggest punchers in the sport, such as GGG and Sergey Kovalev. There is also the question of Crawford’s age. He is 37 years old, while Canelo is significantly younger at 34, with at least three more fights left in his career following his recent deal with the Saudis. 

Garcia Reacts

Canelo has also been much more active of late, having boxed twice since last September. Crawford’s last fight was against Madrimov in August 2024. Crawford faces a very tough task as Danny Garcia questioned whether he could pull off the win.

“Just me assessing Crawford’s last performance when he went up to 154 against Madrimov, I feel like his power really didn’t carry up that much to 154. So I feel like 168 — that’s tough. I mean, if he pulls this off you got to put him up there like top three of all time.

“That means he’ll unify three divisions, all four belts in three different divisions, going up all them weight classes to beat Canelo. If he wins this fight you probably got to put him top three of all time. But it’s going to be a steep, steep hill to climb. It’s going to be tough. If he can do it all praise to him but I think it will be too much for him. That’s just my personal opinion,” Garcia said