On September 13, Terence Crawford will step into the ring to face Mexican Saul Canelo Alvarez in one of the most anticipated fights of the year, but what has generated the most debate is not only the magnitude of the event, but the long time Crawford has spent out of the ring.
At 37 years of age and with an unbeaten record of 41 wins and 31 knockouts, Crawford has been inactive for more than a year since his controversial victory over Israil Madrimov.
Even so, her manager Stephen Edwards assures that this pause will not negatively influence her performance.
“Every time he has a long break, he never looks rusty,” he said. “He’s one of those boxers who defies logic.”
Crawford’s long periods between fights
Since 2019, Crawford has accumulated five prolonged breaks, ranging from 7 to 13 months between each of his fights. After each return, his opponents have not been exactly the elite of boxing, with disputed exceptions such as Madrimov.
In that fight, many believe that the Uzbek deserved the victory, even Canelo himself has said that he saw him as the winner.
Despite these observations, Edwards has full confidence in his pupil’s abilities. He describes him as a boxing “savant”, someone who naturally adapts without the need to explain how. “He has a very quick mind, he adjusts to everything he sees in the ring,” he said.
Although Edwards is betting on Crawford’s victory, not everyone is convinced.
Canelo has faced much more powerful competitors, such as Gennadiy Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev and Dmitry Bivol, and has never shown significant weakness in his chin.
For many, the fact that Crawford has avoided fighting true top super middleweights such as David Benavidez or Janibek Alimkhanuly is a sign that he has not really been tested in the division.
However, Edwards said there are aspects in which Crawford surpasses Canelo.
“Better endurance, better fitness, better feet,” he said. He also mentions his greater reach and height. He assures that although the beginning of the fight will be dangerous for Bud, he will be the strongest in the last rounds.
However, his recent performance against Madrimov suggests otherwise. In rounds 11 and 12, Crawford looked sluggish and was repeatedly caught by right hands. To some, he looked like an aging boxer, far from the level needed to beat a champion like Canelo.
With a record of 63-2-2 and 39 KOs, the Mexican comes in as the favorite, but Stephen Edwards’ confidence keeps alive the expectation of a possible upset. The debate over whether Crawford’s inactivity will be his undoing or not will be settled when the bell rings.
Read the full article here
