Fans at X as a whole say that Terence Crawford would have no chance of facing Canelo Alvarez at 168 after he beat Israel Madrimov at 154 last night in Los Angeles.
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) appeared slower due to weight gain, showed less power, a mark around his right eye, and lacked the same presence he had shown during his five-year 147-year reign as of 2018. in 2023.
Comparisons to Jermell Charlo
A year ago, former junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo moved up from 154 to 168 to fight Canelo and was defeated by power and size, losing a one-sided decision.
Jermall was younger, stronger, and more explosive than the 36-year-old Crawford. He did not compete with Canelo. Crawford doesn’t have the physical tools to fight at 168 against a talent like Canelo, and it wouldn’t be fair to the boxing community to see such a poor matchup with such a predictable outcome.
It would be a rip off and offer little value to the fans unless the undercard is associated with talent as we saw last night. Considering how big the purses would be for Crawford and Canelo, it’s unlikely that The Honorable Turki Alalshikh will be able to put together this high-profile fight using a dominant undercard.
Crawford’s Controversial Decision Adds to Doubt
Many fans saw Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) win and felt that was an example of a popular fight book, Crawford, being given an unfair decision. There is no disputing that Madrimov landed a heavy, eye-catching shot in many rounds.
Honorable Turki Alalshikh will decide when Crawford will face Canelo next in the first quarter of 2025. He has the money to encourage Canelo to take that fight, but it will take a big donation to make it happen.
Canelo is not happy about fighting the 37-year-old Crawford, especially after his poor performance. It would be a different story if Crawford went up first at 168 and beat someone, but he repeatedly said he wanted a shot at Canelo’s title for money and legacy. In other words, Crawford wants a straight shot against Canelo in his first fight at 168.
Eddie Hearn’s opinion
“He can’t fight at 168. Canelo was going to cut him,” said Eddie Hearn on the channel playing Terence Crawford, who does not have the talent to move up two weights to fight super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez following the struggle he had. Last Saturday night they faced WBA Junior middleweight champion Israel Madrimov.
Crawford is a very pure fighter in Mayweather’s style and doesn’t throw enough punches to have a chance of beating Canelo Alvarez at 168.
Moving up to 154 has slowed Crawford, but moving up two more divisions to 168 will slow his speed. That’s what you always see when a fighter packs weight. They are slow, tire easily, and don’t throw much. We saw that with
“He should try to fight against the big names at 154. Ortiz or Boot, but he doesn’t beat Boots in that game,” Hearn continued about Crawford. “It was a tactical battle [Crawford vs. Madrimov]it’s a bit like chess.”
Crawford did not want to admit after the fight that he was lucky, as three judges gave him a dubious chance of defeating Madrimov. He lost himself in the public eye; they are judges, not judges. They know how the game is played and they don’t trust the judges to decide the winners.
“You know this guy is lost, and so is his team, and so is he,” Crawford said, speaking at a post-fight press conference in response to being told that Israel Madrimov thought he had won.
The fans were judging who won the fight, and they didn’t see Crawford as the winner, which hurt his reputation because he didn’t stand out the first time.
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