Crawford Confronts Whispers Of A Left Shoulder Injury Ahead Of Saturday’s Bout With Canelo

Terence Crawford denied today that he has a shoulder injury going into his fight against Canelo Alvarez this Saturday, September 13. Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) brushed off the questions of him being injured, saying it’s more “antics” people come up with to talk about.

The Swollen Shoulder Speculation

This week, there have been rumors of Crawford having a left shoulder injury. There’s a photo showing his left shoulder swollen up, which has helped feed the belief that the 37-year-old is hiding an injury.

With the way he’s pushed himself in training camp after being out of action for 13 months, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were injured. His inactivity and age are natural factors that would make him susceptible to injury. During Crawford’s interview, his beard was noticeably graying. He looked like a 38-year-old.

Crawford Denies Injury Rumors

“Where do I got a shoulder injury? People are coming up with their own antics,” said Terence Crawford during today’s Grand Arrivals in Las Vegas, denying that he has a shoulder injury. “They coming up with all kinds of stuff.”

Why would Crawford admit that he was injured? If he does have an injury, it would be reckless of him to reveal it ahead of time, because Canelo would target that area. With the reported $50 million Crawford is being paid, it’s not realistic for him to pull out of the fight if he does have a shoulder problem.

“Of course, the power is definitely going to come with it. So, that’s not a worry that I ever had. Shutting everybody up,” said Crawford when asked what excites him about his challenge against Canelo on Saturday.

It’s questionable whether there will be an increase in power with Crawford. He appears to be the same size as he was in his last fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024, and he didn’t display an increase in power in that fight.

Crawford Looks to Gloat

“It’s happened before. This isn’t the first time I’ve been booed. So, I don’t care. It’s not the first time that people went against Terence Crawford. But they can’t fight for him, so it doesn’t matter to me. It just puts a little more icing on the cake,” said Crawford.

It sounds like Terence is looking forward to gloating after the fight if he upsets Canelo. He’d have a chance of rubbing it in afterward, and giving the old, ‘I told you so’ bit.

Will he Hide in a Cabin?

Of course, if Crawford loses, he’ll have to listen to fans trashing him. Hopefully, he doesn’t disappear from society and go off into the mountains to seclude himself in a cabin to hide in shame.

“You can tell this is a bigger event. But at the same time, this is my job. I’m used to the media, people, and things like that,” said Crawford when asked to compare the attention he’s receiving for this fight with Canelo compared to when he fought Errol Spence on July 29, 2023.

The interest and promotion for this fight has dwarfed the Crawford vs. Spence event from two years ago. That was a fight that casual fans weren’t as hooked into as the Canelo-Crawford match-up, because the promotional money wasn’t there. They didn’t have someone like Turki Alalshikh spending a fortune promoting.

Risking a KO Attempt

“I don’t know about stopping him, but I’m strong. I’ve never been in the ring with Canelo, so I can’t speak on him. But that’s why we fight the fight so we can figure it out,” said Crawford.

It’s doubtful that Crawford will have enough power or land enough punches to knock out Canelo. It would take a bigger puncher or a volume puncher with a granite chin to stop Alvarez. He’ll be throwing back, and it would be risky for Crawford to sit down on his shots to try for a KO.