Terence Crawford believes a struggle between him and Canelo Alvarez is feasible if he will get by his August third title problem towards WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on ESPN+ PPV on the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
There’s quite a lot of uncertainty about whether or not the 36-year-old Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will get the chance to scoop up that massive payday towards undisputed tremendous middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) within the first half of 2025.
The Madrimov Hurdle
Crawford has these hurdles that would stop him from reeling within the Canelo fish in his internet.
- Israil Madrimov: It is a harmful struggle for the getting old Crawford as a result of he’s combating in a brand new weight class, coming off a 13-month layoff, and going through the largest puncher within the 154-lb division. Crawford has gotten away with combating solely 4 occasions since 2020 because of the opposition he’s been going through, which has largely been sub-level guys.
- Canelo’s lack of curiosity: Canelo has already made it clear in quite a few interviews that he has no intention of entertaining a struggle towards Crawford. Usually, when Canelo says he doesn’t need to struggle somebody, he means it, and so they’re not going to be given an opportunity to struggle him, irrespective of how a lot they name-drop, beg, or try and strain him. Canelo is filthy wealthy, and being lured with extra thousands and thousands doesn’t change his thoughts except it’s an unlimited pile of gold bullion that he can swim in.
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: Promoter Eddie Hearn, who’s shut associates with His Excellency, is pushing laborious for his fighter, Boots Ennis, to face Crawford subsequent. His Excellency spoke to Hearn on Facetime final evening after Boots’ win over David Avanesyan and talked about that he needs to make that struggle occur. If Crawford takes that struggle and will get crushed by the younger gun, Ennis, he can say goodbye to the Canelo struggle. If Canelo ever wanted an excuse for why he shouldn’t struggle Crawford, he would have one proper there.
“I feel that’s a sensible struggle. I feel that struggle can occur, and we will see,” mentioned Terence Crawford to the Every day Mail when requested if he thinks a struggle between him and undisputed tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez can occur.
The Path to Canelo: A Slim Likelihood
There’s a slim chance that Crawford will get the possibility to struggle Canelo earlier than the top of his profession, but it surely’s not good. Too many issues stand in the best way of Crawford getting that struggle, beginning together with his conflict towards Madrimov.
That’s not the kind of opponent to take once you’re as previous as Crawford, who’s a yr older than 35-year-old David Avanesyan, coming off a 13-month layoff, combating in a weight class you’ve by no means competed in. The age, inactivity, weak opposition, and combating in a brand new weight class are sufficient to scupper Crawford’s ship as she sails for the Canelo goldmine.
“I really feel as if boxing ought to dig up sure fights that needs to be made as a substitute of claiming, ‘Oh, this man, he doesn’t promote” or ”This man shouldn’t be prepared,” or ”This man didn’t carry out properly in his final struggle,”” mentioned Crawford in making an argument for himself getting the Canelo struggle.
Crawford’s Name for the Greatest to Combat the Greatest
“Fighters ought to struggle one another, and the perfect within the division ought to struggle the perfect within the division,” mentioned Crawford.
If Crawford actually believes that the perfect ought to struggle the perfect in every division, he ought to have stayed at 147 to face Jaron Ennis moderately than transferring as much as 154 to face Madrimov. Why didn’t Crawford struggle Boots earlier than leaving the burden class?
Errol Spence Jr. wasn’t the perfect when Crawford fought him. Spence had been out of the ring for 17 months, been concerned in two automotive crashes since 2019, gained quite a lot of weight that wanted to be trimmed off, and was only a shell of the fighter he’d as soon as been when Terence fought him.
