People are switching sides from Canelo Alvarez to Terence Crawford in droves, picking Crawford to win their September 12th fight in Las Vegas. Unified super middleweight champion Canelo looked old, flat-footed, and slow in his win over IBF champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh. What was really telling was how Canelo, 34, threw only 152 punches in the entire fight. That’s not just because of Scull’s movement.
Trainer Robert Garcia is the latest person to go from picking Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) to now leaning toward Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) winning. Robert saw what we all did with Alvarez, showing signs of deterioration from his long 20-year career.
Three Poor Outings
He’d already shown signs of slippage in his fights against John Ryder and Jaime Munguiao. But after his clash against the hulking 193-lb Edgar Berlanga last September, Canelo has visibly faded. For those who saw that fight, Canelo took some big shots from Berlanga down the stretch and looked worn out in the 12th. He was lucky that boxing no longer has 15-round fights because Berlanga might have stopped him.
“Now, I switch. I always thought Canelo was going to be too big and too strong, but now I’m going to pick Crawford to win this fight,” said trainer Robert Garcia on the YouTube channel of the Boxing Scene. “Crawford is very talented. Great footwork, great combinations, and a very strong fighter.”
Canelo’s performance against William Scull last Saturday has gotten a lot of fans to switch their picks. They’ve jumped off the sinking Alvarez chip and are picking Crawford to win on September 12th. It’s like rats abandoning a ship that is about to take its final plunge.
It’s not that they’re fans of the Omaha, Nebraska native’s fighting style. Indeed, many people dislike the way Crawford fights, viewing him as not entertaining to watch, except for his one fight against Errol Spence. Boxing fans just see Canelo as being over the hill now at 34, as he’s looked poor in three consecutive fights. It started with Jaime Munguia, then Edgar Berlanga, and now Scull.
Looking Old
“Facing them off, he’s actually the taller man. I’m leaning toward Crawford now. I switched my opinion. I think Canelo looked too slow, too flat-footed, one punch at a time,” said Robert about Canelo’s fight against IBF super middleweight champion William Scull last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Crawford obviously saw the deterioration in Canelo as well, which is one of the reasons he’s so eager to fight him. The money is clearly Terence’s main reason for fighting Canelo, but his looking shot is important as well. If Canelo were the same size as David Benavidez and fighting like him, Crawford wouldn’t be nearly as eager to fight him. He’d still do it for the money, but he’d have a vacant, doomed man look to him if he were facing Benavidez.
“I don’t think that’s going to be enough for him to beat Crawford. Crawford is too fast, too strong, and too good,” said Garcia.
