WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames believes it’s “dangerous” for Terence Crawford’s life to move up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his world titles at super middleweight.
A Calculated “Boring” Strategy?
It’s believed that Crawford will follow the Mayweather blueprint by boxing Canelo from the outside, jabbing, moving, and tying up to prevent him from landing his powerful counterpunches.
Crawford will make it boring because he doesn’t have the size, power, or chin to stand in front of Canelo and mix it up the way a super middleweight would.
Using a Mayweather-esque style will keep Crawford from harm, but it will be very lackluster, leaving fans feeling angry and ripped off afterward for having ordered the fight on PPV. The fight is a circus and money-grab, so fans should know what they’re in for by ordering a Canelo vs. Crawford fight ahead of time.
The Nebraska native Crawford is not Gennady Golovkin, and he doesn’t possess the power of a fighter like him. Crawford would get chewed up by Canelo if he attempted to go to war with him the way Golovkin did in their first two fights, and he was almost the same age as Terence now when he did that.
Adames Questions the Need for the Canelo Fight
Adames feels that Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), who turns 37 in September, doesn’t need to move up to super middleweight to fight Canelo. The Nebraska native Crawford hasn’t fought at 154, 160, or 168 before, and he’s not ready to make that kind of step up.
Crawford will fight WBC junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd, his first fight at 154. Assuming Crawford is victorious, he’ll skip the 160-lb division and go straight to 168 to challenge Canelo for his belts without acclimatizing himself.
A No-Win Situation for Canelo
It’s obvious why Crawford would want to move up to super middleweight to jump straight into a fight against Canelo. It’s all about money.
Crawford will make a boatload of money and have a built-in excuse should he lose. He can blame it on him fighting outside of his weight class, which is one of the reasons why Canelo has repeatedly not been interested in fighting Crawford. It’s a no-win situation for Canelo.
The only one who gains from a fight with Canelo is Crawford. Even if Crawford loses, he can still emerge as the victor if Canelo struggles to defeat him. That makes Crawford look good in the eyes of fans while tarnishing Canelo’s popularity and legacy.
“I don’t think Crawford needs the Canelo fight right now. I think it’s kind of needless for him because his reputation has been cemented, and a punch from Canelo could not only be dangerous for him to lose the fight but also dangerous for his life. So, no need for Crawford to cross the line into such a heavy weight class,” said Carlos Adames to Sean Zittel’s YouTube channel.
Adames (23-1, 18 KOs) defends his WBC middleweight title this Saturday, June 15th, against Terrell Gausha (24-3-1, 12 KOs) on the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Frank Martin card.
