Can History Repeat? The Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler Comparison And Why It Might Not Apply To Crawford Vs. Canelo

DAZN commentator Chris Mannix has doubts whether the muscle that Terence Crawford has added to his wiry frame will slow him down like a ship’s anchor for his title challenge against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.

A Year of Bulking Up

Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has had a year to add weight and train just for this fight against Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) on Netflix at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Bulking up to the mid-180s without testing out the weight in an actual fight at super middleweight is putting Crawford in a challenging situation.

“One of the questions I have for Bud going into this fight is when you get to round six and beyond. That extra muscle he’s carrying around. Is he still durable? Is he still fresh in the second half of the fight?” said commentator Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing, questioning whether the weight that Terence Crawford has packed on in the last year will slow him down like an anchor for his title challenge against Canelo Alvarez.

Extra Weight, Less Speed

Carrying that extra weight will make Crawford slower. He’s not going to be faster carrying around an extra 20+ lbs. As Mannix points out, the muscle that Crawford has packed on could slow him, making him vulnerable to getting hit by Canelo, who is accustomed to fighting in this division. Getting hit by Canelo could be an uncomfortable experience for Crawford.

Even if Alvarez does not knock him out, he could have problems winning rounds. The judges will focus on the fighter who is landing the harder, cleaner shots, and that would be Canelo. Crawford didn’t show an increase in power in bulking up for his move up to 154 against Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024.

Canelo’s 12-round Stamina

“We know Canelo can go 12 rounds and be great over 12 rounds. He’s done it time and time again,” said Mannix. “We know Crawford can go deep into fights at smaller weights. Muscle is heavy. He’s going to be carrying that against a guy that is going to be quick, is going to be strong, and is going to be elite in the second half of the fight.”

The Close Madrimov Victory

Crawford looked slower and not as energetic in his last fight, moving up from 147 to 154 to take on WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024. Terence ate a lot of punches en route to winning a close 12-round unanimous decision, but it was a fight that he could have lost if Madrimov had been more aggressive in the championship rounds.

It wasn’t the kind of performance that indicated that Crawford would be a lock to defeat the other top 154-pounders. He looked his age in that fight, and his power was not the same.

“I thought it was a very close fight. I thought Madrimov won the fight, personally. I thought he landed the cleaner shots and controlled the pace,” said promoter Eddie Hearn.

“There’s no doubt that Crawford is going to come into this fight looking like he’s in the best shape of his life. He looks physically spectacular. He’s put on the weight in the right way. And this is not the case of a guy having a couple of months to get up to 168 pounds. He’s been preparing for this movement for the better part of a year. He knew it was Canelo Alvarez or bust,” said Mannix.

Crawford has taken an entire year to train for this fight against Alvarez. Bud’s last fight was on May 3, 2024, against Israil Madrimov, and he knew then that Canelo was next. So, instead of returning to the ring for fights, he chose to use the last 12 months to bulk up slowly.

Still, putting on a lot of weight to fight in the 168-lb weight class without experience after a year of inactivity is not ideal for Crawford. He has chosen to jump in all at once, rather than taking the gradual route that other fighters have.

The Leonard-Hagler Comparison

Fans and the media argue that Crawford can win because Sugar Ray Leonard already proved that a fighter can jump up weight divisions to fight a bigger guy when he defeated then WBC and Ring middleweight champion Marvin Hagler by a controversial 12-round split decision on April 6, 1987.

Leonard was 30, not 37, pushing 38, like Crawford. Also, Leonard’s previous fight was at 154, and he moved up just one weight division, not two like Crawford. The outcome of the Leonard-Hagler fight was far from conclusive, as many boxing fans felt that Hagler had done enough to deserve the win. The judges’ scores were:

115–113 for Leonard
118–110 for Leonard
115–113 for Hagler