Ennis Picks Canelo Over Crawford – ’70-30′

Jaron Ennis has picked Canelo Alvarez to beat Terence Crawford in their Undisputed Super Middleweight bout.

Canelo, a natural super middleweight, is fighting at his optimal weight class. The Mexican champion has even shown his ability to compete at a higher weight, as he moved up to 175 pounds and won the WBO belt from Sergey Kovalev in 2019. He also took the former Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion Dmity Bivol the distance, despite coming up short. In contrast, Crawford is making a risky jump of two weight divisions to challenge for the titles.

Crawford’s situation is similar to that of Jermell Charlo, who also jumped up two weight classes to fight Canelo and was ultimately outclassed. Ennis’ firsthand experience sparring with Canelo has given him a unique understanding of the champion’s power and skill, and he believes that the weight difference will given the Mexican the win. 

Ennis Reacts

“I’m going to say 60-40 Canelo or 70-30. He’s been at the weight and been fighting bigger guys. So, he’s kind of like used to being at the weight. So, I would lean more toward Canelo. But I think Crawford would have a chance, but I would lean more toward Canelo, though,” Ennis said 

Conversely, the argument that Crawford’s talent and skill will be enough to overcome the weight disadvantage is equally compelling. It’s a mistake to compare Crawford to Charlo, as “Bud” is widely regarded as a more skilled, more versatile, and more dynamic fighter.

Crawford’s ring IQ, his ability to switch-hit, and his slick defense are all on a different level. For example, he moved up from 140 to 147 pounds and became a dominant champion, showing that he can carry his power and speed up in weight. Given Crawford managed to outclass a bigger fighter in Errol Spence Jr., Bud will fancy himself to do the same when it comes to Canelo.