Trainer Virgil Hunter believes the potential clash between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez could be a “technical chess match” between the two champions.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to put a fight between undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and the former three-division world champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) for the winter in December or January.
Crawford still has a fight on August 3rd against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov at the BMO Stadium in Las Angeles. His Excellency didn’t say whether Crawford getting the Canelo fight was contingent on him beating Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs), but that would make sense.
It would be hard for the prideful Crawford to walk away from a loss to Madrimov to take a fight against Canelo, especially if it’s a knockout loss.
Intriguing Fight, Piqued Interest
“It definitely would go down as an intriguing fight, and it would pique the interest of the fans,” said trainer Virgil Hunter to Fighthype about the clash between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford if it happens in December or January.
“You got a lot of people thinking that Terence can win that fight and a lot of people that think that Canelo can win.”
It’s an interesting fight because Crawford and Canelo are seen as two of the best fighters in the sport. Both guys are getting on in years and near the end of their careers.
What also makes it intriguing is the idea of Crawford moving up three weight classes from 147 to take on Canelo at 168, and giving away size. It would be impossible for Crawford to have any chance of winning if he were fighting a large and young super middleweight like David Benavidez or David Morrell.
Those guys are just too big, powerful, and young for Crawford. But Canelo is an old 33, fighting more like a 40-ish fighter. Canelo’s work rate is low, and he has stamina problems that would give Crawford a chance.
Size vs. Skills
“So, I think that creates a lot of interest in that fight. If we had to go on the basics and history, you say the bigger guy [Canelo] wins. But in Terence, we’re talking about an exceptional fighter. So, you can’t count him out,” said Hunter.
If Crawford can’t handle Canelo’s punching power, he’ll be hesitant to let his hands go. We saw how Gennadiy Golovkin, a true middleweight, was cautious about letting his hands go in his first two fights with Canelo.
Golovkin couldn’t attack Canelo because it was too risky, so he threw a lot of jabs, which resulted in his failure to win. Crawford doesn’t have GGG’s size and power, and he hasn’t been hit by a fighter like Canelo. Errol Spence Jr. looked drained and slow in his fight with Crawford last July.
“It’s a fight that I would be very interested in seeing. You have to commend Terence for just taking that step up in the weight classes and daring to be great to be able to take on a task that monumental,” said Hunter.
A Chess Match, Not a War
“If Canelo won, I wouldn’t be surprised. If Terence won, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Hunter. “I think it would be a chess match based on Terence’s ability and Canelo’s ability. I don’t think it would be a fight that would go down as a war because of Terence’s athletic ability and ability to evade.”
Hopefully, Hunter is wrong about the Canelo vs. Crawford fight being a chess match because that’s not what boxing fans want to see. They want to see a war with both fighters letting their hands go with knockout intention.
“At the same time, he has to be careful of coming into the mouth of the lion himself and giving away size and strength. I think it would be a tactical fight and a fight for the technical purists,” said Hunter.
