“If he fights my sneaker, it’s going to generate a million pay-per-views.” This is how former professional boxer and ProBox TV analyst Paulie Malignaggi views the unified super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez‘s influence.
With that level of drawing power, ‘Magic Man’ Malignaggi expects the highly anticipated Terence Crawford vs. Canelo clash in September to be a massive event.
However, one thing he is not sure about is Canelo’s win against ‘Bud’ Crawford, a former two-division undisputed champion. Canelo vs. Crawford has been long in the making. It was thanks to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh that ‘Cinnamon’ finally agreed to share the ring with the Nebraskan. Earlier this year, the super middleweight king signed a four-fight deal with the Saudis, thus setting the stage for the massive clash.
JUST IN: Turki Alalshikh Teases Huge Surprise for Canelo vs. Crawford Fight
This agreement will see Canelo tackle IBF super middleweight champion William Scullin May for all four belts en route to the massive pay-per-view bonanza against Crawford. But the thing is, a substantial amount of people believe that despite Crawford’s unmatched skills, he would become just another green notch in Canelo’s resume.
This is largely because the 37-year-old Crawford is jumping two weight classes for the fight without a rehydration clause in place—a move that has historically proven difficult for smaller fighters facing naturally bigger opponents. Despite this, Malignaggi believes Crawford holds a clear advantage in one key area. While speaking to Fight Hype recently, ‘Magic Man’ explained his point of view.
“I was originally thinking Crawford might be too small,” Malignaggi said. “I think Crawford is a way more complete fighter than Canelo ever was. The only risk here is Crawford’s small. You think about it though, [Roberto] Duran, was a former lightweight and he was able to beat Iran Barkley eventually.” It’s worth noting that Duran and Barkley fought in 1989, and the fight came to a split decision win for Duran, despite Barkley having defeated Tommy Hearns before that.
Regardless, Malignaggi explained, “This Canelo is not the prime Canelo. This Canelo is also a Canelo who’s trying to steal bags while half-a**ing it. When Canelo has been put in tough situations, in the moments where he’s had to really dig down, what has he done? He hasn’t really dug down and gone for broke. In fights where he’s been losing, he just kind of accepted the loss.”
Malignaggi tried to justify his point by highlighting Canelo’s fight against Floyd Mayweather, noting, “Early on with Floyd too. People will say that he was young, but he never really took a risk in the Floyd fight once he was outclassed. He just accepted like, ‘All right, this guy’s outclassing me.’” He even roped in Canelo’s loss to Dmitry Bivol, suggesting Canelo was in his prime for this fight and couldn’t make that excuse.
It’s worth noting that Terence Crawford struggled to find his rhythm against Israil Madrimov last year due to Madrimov’s unorthodox boxing style. So, what suggests Crawford will be able to handle Canelo, especially at a much heavier weight class where the Mexican star has dominated for years? Crawford relies on agility and his skills, something that may prove daunting in the later rounds when the fighters are fatigued.
Still, Crawford seems to have convinced many that an upset is in the making.
Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman has weighed in on a potential showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. Rahman believes Crawford has the skill advantage and will outbox Canelo if they meet in the ring. “In the [Jermell] Charlo fight, I wasn’t really impressed with Canelo,” Rahman told FightHype. “Even though he won it, I really didn’t think he did what I thought he was capable of doing. I feel like that gave Terence a blueprint in how to fight him.”
Rahman also claimed Canelo has received favorable decisions in the past. “I’ve seen Canelo lose fights. They just didn’t take it from him, but I feel that Terence will outbox him.” He further argued that Canelo has become “a little spoiled” by recent opposition, adding, “I think that’s going to be to his disservice in this fight. I think Terence is going to win.”
Having said that, it appears as the days pass, more and more people are starting to believe Terence Crawford can beat Canelo Alvarez. However, such statements about Canelo’s opponents aren’t anything new, it’s just that Crawford is on a completely different level.
