His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is currently the most sought-after matchmaker. Whether it is bringing the much-anticipated heavyweight undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to fruition, or successfully convincing long-time rival promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren to sign on the dotted line for the Matchroom vs Queensberry 5v5 event, there is no doubt he is giving boxing fans what they want. Now, he is on a mission to revitalize boxing and has another epic matchup in mind – a battle between two champions with undisputed status: Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, HE Turki Alalshikh had mentioned that he is “working on Canelo and Crawford card” in America, and wants to book it for the “end of the year or beginning of the second year.”
Canelo, after putting on a boxing clinic against Jaime Munguia on Cinco De Mayo weekend, is patiently waiting on the sidelines for a lucrative offer for his next fight. On the other hand, Crawford, after a long period of inactivity since his undisputed fight against Errol Spence Junior, will be going up against super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov in August as he looks to become a four-division world champion. One question on everybody’s mind is: Will Crawford be able to put on the weight to meet Canelo Alvarez at 168 next? ‘Bud’s’ last opponent in the ring, Spence Jr., thinks “he can pull it off.”
In an interview with FightHype. Errol Spence Junior stated that he would be rooting for the former undisputed welterweight champion to beat Canelo Alvarez. Not letting the devastating ninth-round knockout loss to Crawford last year cloud his judgment, Spence Jr. wants the Nebraska native champion to achieve “greatness” in the battle between two P4P greats.
“If Crawford wants to challenge himself to be great, let him try to be great. I’m with it. I’d be going for Bud. I don’t know if he’d win or lose, but if anybody can pull it off, he can pull it off. He’s chasing greatness,” he said.
Crawford is already putting on 21 pounds to fight the WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov on August 3rd. Therefore, gaining another fourteen pounds to get to 168 doesn’t seem like a far-fetched idea.
“Canelo went up to 175 and fought Kovalev and the other guy [Dmitry Bivol], too. If he can do it, and he started at 147, if he can do it, why can’t Crawford do it,” the former unified welterweight champion further said.
Interestingly, Canelo started his career in the welterweight division. He moved all the way up to light-heavyweight to assert his dominance. However, ‘Cinnamon’s last fight in that weight class ended in defeat against Dmitry Bivol. Therefore, if Crawford wants to be on the same path, Canelo has already paved the way.
On that note, Canelo’s former promoter, the head of Matchroom Boxing, believes that a matchup against another great talent, David Benavidez, will be a more credible fight for Canelo than one against Crawford. But why does Eddie Hearn think that way?
In an interview with FightHub TV, Hearn said, “I think he’d pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he’d get the credit for that win, whereas he might not vs a guy three divisions lower.”
Undoubtedly, Crawford can match Alvarez in boxing skills. But, the weight gap is a cause for concern. While Crawford’s last fight was against Spence Jr at 147, Alvarez has been fighting at 168 since 2018. Moreover, ‘Canelito’ has no plans to cut down on his weight. This puts the onus on Crawford to jump from 154 lbs to 168 lbs. However, Hearn thinks that would be detrimental for Crawford, as Canelo will overpower and outsize him in the 168-pound weight class.
Undoubtedly, Crawford can match Alvarez in boxing skills. But, the weight gap is a cause for concern. While Crawford’s last fight was against Spence Jr at 147, Alvarez has been fighting at 168 since 2018. Moreover, ‘Canelito’ has no plans to cut down on his weight. This puts the onus on Crawford to jump from 154 lbs to 168 lbs. However, Hearn thinks that would be detrimental for Crawford, as Canelo will overpower and outsize him in the 168-pound weight class.
