Oleksandr Usyk predicts Terence Crawford will efficiently transfer up three weight divisions to unseat undisputed tremendous middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) turns 37 in September. He will likely be coming off a 1+ yr layoff when he makes his debut at 154 in opposition to WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov, believed to be the toughest puncher within the division.
Assuming Crawford will get previous Madrimov with out being pieced up like a block of Swiss cheese, he’ll nonetheless want to maneuver up two divisions to go from 154 to 168 with out dropping a big quantity of velocity to problem Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
Then there’s additionally the stamina situation that Crawford might want to overcome. Placing on weight is not going to solely trigger a possible slowdown in velocity but additionally trigger a stamina hit.
Usyk’s Reward
Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk admits that he’s pals with Crawford, which it’s important to issue into the equation along with his backing him to defeat Canelo.
Is Usyk’s choose of Crawford over Canelo on account of his friendship and loyalty to his buddy or does he actually imagine he can transfer up three divisions to beat a fighter that a lot larger and stronger than him?
“Terence is my buddy, however he’s a loopy man. I say Terence wins. Hear, Terence is a distinct man. Terence works in two stances; he’s a really, very, very sensible man,” mentioned Usyk in a gushing interview with 3KRPodcast.
How will Crawford adapt to the 168-lb weight class with none expertise apart from his sparring assist? He’s simply going up blindly, hoping for one of the best in opposition to Canelo, with no intention of getting acclimatized to the division by preventing a couple of high contenders first.
Canelo hasn’t mentioned whether or not he’ll even comply with battle Crawford. In previous interviews, Canelo has mentioned he’s not all in favour of preventing Crawford as a result of there’s nothing to achieve from the match-up. So until he’s paid a mountain of cash, Canelo gained’t do it.
Crawford’s Gamble for a Huge Payday
It looks like a determined transfer pushed by the visions of the big payday Crawford will get. That cash will cushion the blow of Crawford getting overwhelmed up and knocked out by Canelo.
Crawford didn’t look good in opposition to David Avanesyan or Shawn Porter for lengthy stretches in these fights, which occurred two to 3 years in the past. He’s aged since then, and he’s not the fighter he was.
It’s a must to determine that Madrimov will take one thing out of Crawford, and if he will get previous him, there would be the compulsory yr off having fun with his victory lap. By the point Crawford comes again, he’ll be near 38, and he ain’t going to beat Canelo or be aggressive.
