Terence Crawford is in the midst of a substantial change in his career and all because of the fact that he is facing the one everyone wants, theMexican Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in the super middleweight division.
The Nebraska native moved up to the super welterweight division – or junior middleweight for the IBF – just a year ago, where he fought Israil Madrimov and defeated him to become a two-division champion in an exciting fight at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
More than a year of waiting
With September in sight, Canelo will test whether Cuban William Scull has the arguments to make him sweat on May 3 in Riyadh, while Terence Crawford has nothing on the horizon and is just patiently waiting for September to come to face the biggest challenge of his career against the Jalisco native, which many claim is too long, after his last fight was on August 3, 2024, precisely against Madrimov.
Canelo, for his part, is coming off a win over Jermell Charlo on September 30, but wanted to test Scull as part of his contract with the Riyadh Season to keep himself in tune, something Crawford will not do and that from the perspective of many could cost him dearly, especially because of his weight gain, from 154 to 168 pounds, where Canelo is the king.
The sacrifice for Canelo
And every decision has its sacrifices, especially one as big as the one Crawford made, who as he will not return to the super welterweight division has already relinquished his interim belt won against Madrimov, which placed him as mandatory challenger for Sebastian Fundora’s WBO title, who will now see Xander Zayas as his next opponent, after facing Chordale Booker.
Since 2020, Crawford has decided to fight only once a year, and the strategy seems to have worked for him, as against Kell Brook, Shawn Porter, David Avanesyan, Errol Spence Jr. and Israil Madrimov he added his 37th, 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st victories of his successful unbeaten career. Will Canelo be number 42? Will it be worth the dreadful wait?
Read the full article here
