Crawford “Can make it look easy” by Canelo – Shakur Stevenson

Shakur Stevenson believes Terence Crawford will beat Canelo Alvarez and “can make it a very easy fight” when they meet in September.

WBC lightweight champion Stevenson says he’s been saying for years that he believes Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will beat Canelo. He says Canelo won’t be able to walk through Crawford’s punches because he feels he can hit “any weight class.”

Crawford didn’t look powerful in his debut at 154 against Israil Madrimov and couldn’t hurt him with his best shots. Madrimov seemed to make it more dangerous, and he didn’t even load his punches like he usually does.

“Easy job” for Bud?

“I’ve been saying this for years. I’m probably the first person to say this, even before Terence said it. I always thought his (Crawford) style against Canelo, I think Canelo wins,” Shakur Stevenson told talkSport Boxing about his belief that Crawford will beat Canelo. “I’m not saying it’s an easy fight, but he can make it a very easy fight.”

“I met Terence in Dubai, and he’s a lot thicker. He’s put on weight recently. He’s 38,” Gareth A. Davies said of the older-looking Crawford. “He’s put on weight.”

“That’s another thing, too. I don’t think Canelo is walking around with his punches. Terence can hit, and that goes for any weight class,” Shakur said.

As Shakur makes it sound, Crawford will be in the pocket and going to war with Canelo in September. That’s unrealistic, considering how Crawford has traditionally struggled when facing punchers. It tends to move around a lot, biting and jumping to the ground.

Terence doesn’t stay in one place or attack in total flashes. He fought Errol Spence aggressively, but that was because he was fighting a guy who was a shell of himself after his car accident.

To tune, or not?

“It would be a little more than a year (13 months). You have to be very careful if you’re going to fight above 160 pounds, because it’s a new weight class,” Chris Mannix said in his YouTube channel about Terence Crawford needing to be careful when he tunes up to stay fit for his September fight against Canelo Alvarez.

It’s doubtful that Crawford will take any chances by lining up against a super middleweight to get his feet wet before fighting Canelo in September. If Terence does fight in the weight class, it will be at a catchweight, probably against a middleweight going up to 163 or 164.

I could see Crawford fighting one of these middleweights at a catch weight around 164: Aaron McKenna, Liam Smith, Austin Williams or Kyrone Davis. These guys are no threat to beat Crawford, and they are ranked low in the middleweight division.

“Having fought only once at 154. I’m sure he can move up in weight. He’s a tall guy. I’m sure he can fill out his box pretty well,” Mannix said of Crawford. “You have to be careful who you draft. You cannot select a puncher. You can’t select anyone really dangerous. You can’t risk that bread (to fight Canelo).

“Remember when Oscar (De La Hoya) fought Stevie Forbes before he fought Mayweather?” Mannix said.

It would be a shock if Crawford took any build-up fights because he wouldn’t want to risk the money for the Canelo fight, and he’s comfortable fighting once a year.

Crawford hasn’t been active in five years, and he certainly won’t now that he’s about to hit a career-high retirement day against Alvarez.