After defeating Edgar Berlanga on September 14th to defend his super middleweight titles, Canelo Alvarez is still willing to take on Terence Crawford.
The WBO has ordered Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to battle Sebastian Fundora, the junior middleweight champion of the WBC and WBO, although Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is unaffected. If his Excellency Turki Alalshikh pays him enough money to accept, it will happen if he wants to fight Crawford.
Canelo is correct when he believes that Crawford is a “easy” opponent for him. In his most recent fight at 154 against Israil Madrimov, Crawford didn’t appear powerful, and he’s not the same fighter now as he was at 147 and lower.
Sampson Lewkowicz, Fundora’s promoter, is skeptical that Crawford will square up with his opponent. Because he is aware of the outcome, he believes he will wait for the lucrative battle against Canelo rather than accept the risky matchup with “The Towering Inferno” Fundora.
Crawford is not built for 154 and would be food for Fundora, Tim Tszyu, Erickson Luibin, Charles Conwell, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. based on his performance against WBA junior middleweight champion Isrial Madrimov on August 3.
These are just a few fighters who the soon-to-be 37-year-old Crawford would really hate. Crawford would have absolutely no chance of winning against such a phenomenal fighter as Canelo. He can’t outwork Canelo even if he attempts to follow Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s example by jabbing and running all night.
Crawford cannot compete against tough fighters like Canelo, David Benavidez, David Morrell, Christian Mbilli, Diego Pacheco, or Osleys Iglesias at 168 because he is too frail and thin-boned. As Canelo stated recently, “Weight classes exist for a purpose.”
Crawford struggled in that bout due to his advanced age, lack of exercise, and decision to compete at a weight higher than he was capable of. The Mexican superstar would be completely outmatched if Crawford were to confront Canelo at 168 pounds.
“I’m not saying that fight can’t happen,” said Canelo in media reports.
“That order doesn’t matter,” in media reports.
Canelo may use Crawford as a solid stay-busy fight to keep himself busy between important title defenses against elite fighters like Mbilli, Pacheco, and Iglesias. Canelo would benefit financially, and his stature would rise following his convincing victory over Crawford—a smaller, weaker, older version of Jermell Charlo.
