Callum Smith doubts whether Terence Crawford will be able to handle Canelo Alvarez's size when he moves up two divisions to fight him in September at super middleweight.
Crawford too young?
Light heavyweight Smith, who shared the ring with Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) when he competed at 168, points out that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) began his career in the lower weights at the age of 135. Two weight classes from 154 to fight Canelo at 168 is a “tough ask” in terms of size.
Smith hasn't completely ruled out the 37-year-old Crawford, noting that Canelo is starting to show signs of aging, but he still feels it will be tough for the Nebraska native.
Crawford has not fought at super middleweight, struggled to get to 154 against Israel Madrimov, and will be coming off a year-long layoff if the fight with Canelo happens in September. If so, he will have been out of the ring for 13 months.
“It's a great fight, they're both exceptional stars. It'll be interesting to see how the weight impacts Crawford's rise (to 168),” Callum Smith said. Professional boxing fansHe talks about the possibility of Canelo Alvarez facing off against Terence Crawford in September.
“As we saw with (former undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell) Charlo. He's a very good fighter, but he couldn't handle him (Canelo). He's fine with making weight, but there's natural size, and Crawford is coming from the lower weights.
“He's a four-weight world champion. So, stepping up to two other divisions to face the likes of Canelo is going to be tough, but as we saw with (undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur) Beterbiev (in his recent close fight against Dmitry Bivol), Canelo's not going to get On any younger.
Spence wins by luck
Crawford was at his best at 135 and 140 when he had a size advantage against less-than-stellar opposition in those weight classes when he fought in them. At 147, Bud was slower and easier to hit, and it took a wrecked, inactive, injury-plagued, overweight Errol Spence to make Crawford look good.
Before that, he didn't look impressive in fights against David Avanesyan, Jose Benavidez Jr., and Jeff Horn at welterweight. He looked like an average fighter, better than those low quality guys, but not like a super talent.
It's interesting how much attention has been given to Terence beating Spence. Fans suddenly believed that he was an entertaining knockout artist and that he fought that way his entire career.
This is not what Crawford looked or fought during his career. If fans had watched his entire career, as I did, they would have seen that he was a Shakur-style mover and counterpuncher, and that his knockouts came against older fighters.
Crawford by final knockout
Errol Spence: 34
David Avanesian: 35
Sean Porter: 34
Kellbrook: 34
Amir Khan: 34
“He's had a tough career and been through injuries and stuff. As a boxing fan, I'm happy to see this type of fight happen. Now, as a fan, I sit back and watch it. I'm looking forward to it,” Smith said of the Canelo vs. Crawford fight.
Canelo is slowing down at 34 years old and is not the fighter he was four years ago in 2021 when he won the undisputed super middleweight championship against Calin Plant. However, he is much larger and stronger with a normal weight of 168 pounds.
He is also four years younger than Crawford, who turns 38 in September and has a lackluster performance against Israel Madrimov in his 154-year-old debut on Aug. 3, 2024.
