Trainer Abel Sanchez: Terence Crawford Is Not ‘Strong Enough’

Talking to FightHype, Sanchez questioned Crawford’s skillset ahead of the fight and stated that he might not be able to overcome Alvarez’s natural size advantage.

“In order to beat Canelo, you have to be willing to take a shot and press him and press him and make sure you keep him busy and keep him backing up. If you can’t muscle him, if you can’t be more effective than he is with his punches and push him back then you’re not going to beat him,” he said.

Golovkin faced Alvarez in 2022, albeit losing the fight via decision. Sanchez mentioned that Golovkin was unable to press him and be stronger than him, unlike someone like Bivol.

However, going up in size alone wouldn’t be enough for Crawford, he says. According to Sanchez, he should have focused on building up size gradually and fighting three to four fighters to “build up his work ethic and his strength by competing and beating guys at that weight.” Sanchez believes that going up in size this drastically was one of the worst things that Crawford could have done.

“But he’s a Hall of Famer, man. He’s a great fighter. I just don’t think that he’s big enough, I don’t think he’s strong enough to be able to muscle a Canelo. My opinion, the first three or four rounds Terence will have an advantage because of his hand speed, but once Canelo assimilates and gets used to the combinations coming at him, I think it’s a sparring session again for Canelo as he’s had in the past,” he said.

“How Stupid People Are”

Meanwhile, Crawford’s coach, Bernie ‘The Boxer’ Davies, has been facing flak for apparently using Shakur Stevenson as a sparring partner for Crawford in training camp for the Alvarez fight. But this hasn’t settled down well with Davies, who accused people of being “stupid” enough to believe everything that they see.

“You see how stupid people are. We’re not using Shakur Stevenson as a sparring partner. They come out to be part of the camp to be part of the hangout,” he said while talking to Mill City Boxing. “Shakur wants to get in there with everybody. Only Bud is using Shakur to get ready for Canelo. What sense does that make? You do know we got the trainer of the year (‘BoMac McIntyre), right? Do you think the trainer of the year is going to use a 135-pounder to help us get ready for Canelo, you silly people?”