Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford: Size Matters 

The much-anticipated matchup between Canelo Alvarez and Terrence Crawford is official here. These two pound-for-pounders meet in an undisputed fight at super middleweight. The biggest question of them all heading into fight night is Crawford’s ability to still look himself despite jumping two weight classes. Both men have elite level skill but will size ultimately tell the story? This event will take place in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming live on Netflix.

Terence Crawford has slowly but surely proved many wrong as he’s made his way through a successful career. The Nebraska native doesn’t have a sterling resume when it comes to high level opposition. However, the eye test tells us all we need to know along with several quality victories. Names such as Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, and Viktor Postol are fights he showed his worth.

Against Postol, Bud Crawford proved he could box wisely on the outside, a gameplan he will likely attempt to employ versus Canelo. Crawford devoured Errol Spence and regardless of what we think of Spence post-accident, Bud dismantled him. Shawn Porter gave Crawford a competitive fight until Bud was informed, he may need a stoppage, so he delivered just that.

In his last bout Crawford moved up to the 154-pound division and Bud’s performance was lackluster. It should be noted his opponent Israil Madrimov fought in a particular style that some thought winning was secondary. Either way Madrimov was able to hang in there without taking all that much damage. So, was it the style clash or the new weight class or a little of both?

Canelo Alvarez’s resume is full of names that will be or already in the hall of fame. Lots of folks thought he would duck Erislandy Lara post Alvarez losing to Floyd Mayweather. Even more people who follow the sport closely thought Canelo would was ducking Gennadiy Golovkin. When it was all said and done, he fought GGG three times. Yes, the third time took too long but the fact remains the deepest resume in the current crop of boxers from this generation, Canelo has the best win-lose-or-draw.

In recent years Canelo has been doubted he will ever take on David Benavidez. Having been offered the most upfront money of his career at the time, Canelo has for whatever reason denied Benavidez a shot. Every boxer late in his or her career will face pressure to take on the younger boxer trying to make a name. In his case Canelo signed a 4-fight deal and continues to fight on so it’s not like he had just one or two fights left at the time then retired. Facing guys like Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, and William Scull makes one wonder why Benavidez hasn’t earned his shot at Canelo.

The first ballot hall of famer once claimed he had no interest in fighting Terence Crawford because he wouldn’t get any credit due to size. And that is in fact the most important item when predicting the outcome. Both fighters tend to start slow meaning Bud will have to buck that trend to get an early lead. Besides hand and foot speed advantages for Bud, Canelo fights at a slow pace overall which could fall right into what gameplan Crawford chooses.

On this week’s episode of the Rope A Dope Radio boxing podcast the topic was discussed involving Jermell Charlo and his two-weight class jump he made fighting Canelo Alvarez. Many believed Charlo would revert to his old self by using his jab and boxing on the outside creating a moving target while scoring points to win rounds. Once Jermell got knocked down, he went into survival mode for the rest of the fight.

This Saturday night will find out if Terrence Crawford is built different. From media members, longtime boxing fans, to ex-pro boxers the theme is Bud Crawford will try to win this fight until the final bell. This boxing junkie does believe Crawford is a higher-level boxer than Jermell Charlo. Another item boxing folks have brought up is Bud’s reach advantage which does exist. And if Bud decided to fight at range the whole fight, he could trouble Canelo not allowing him to set up his offense and dig into his punches.

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That said Canelo has been at a disadvantage for many of his fights when it comes to arm reach. One last thing to bring up is just how difficult it is to win a decision over Canelo Alvarez. Just ask Golovkin and let us not forget the draw scorecard Canelo received in a clean loss to Mayweather. The combination of Canelo being patience and at the same time motivated to beat the smaller guy, along with having an iron chin has this boxing podcaster leaning for Canelo.

 My Official Prediction is Canelo Alvarez by Decision.

PODCAST LINK: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rope-a-dope-radio-podcast/id1794655742?i=1000725818312

Side Note: Don’t miss the sure fire Mbilli vs Martinez co-feature. Lester is a bit green, but Mbilli has shown to be vulnerable. My Pick is a minor upset Lester Martinez via Split-Decision.

Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker, I-Heart Radio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts & More! Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio