Is Terence Crawford’s Fight With Canelo Just A ‘Silly Gimmick’ Or A True Test Of Legacy?

Regis Prograis says he can’t see Terence Crawford pulling out a victory in his ‘Fight of the Century’ battle against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. First of all, Prograis believes Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is too old. He turns 38 in September and hasn’t fought in a year.

The Two-Division Weight Jump

Regis says the two-division weight jump that Crawford will be doing will be kryptonite for him. Going up two weight divisions at 38, with no experience at 168, and coming off a 13-month layoff. Crawford has everything going against him.

“He’s not like that [a mover] and he’s getting older now, too. If Crawford can pull it off, it’ll be amazing, but I don’t see it,” said Regis Prograis to Fight Hub TV, predicting that Canelo Alvarez will defeat Terence Crawford next month.

Last year, Crawford looked all of 37 for his fight against Israil Madrimov. He did not look like he was 28, like some fans and fighters are claiming. He showed his age in that fight, getting outboxed and put-punched by Madrimov. What saved Crawford were the judges. He lost that fight in the true sense, but the judges gave a miracle win with their upside-down scoring. On September 13th, it’s not realistic that Crawford will get a second miracle.

“Canelo is big, he’s strong. I hear that he’s [Crawford] going to knock him out. Canelo has been hit by Kovalev, and GGG. These were big punchers. Erislandy Lara and Bivol. He’s been hit by real big punchers. I don’t think it’s going to do nothing,” said Prograis.

The Case for  a Gimmick Fight

This whole idea by Turki Alalshikh of having Crawford move up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for his 168-lb undisputed championship is bad. Turki should have made Crawford run a mini-gauntlet of two or three top 168 or 175-lb fighters to prove that he can get through it to have a chance against Canelo. Fans would respect the Canelo-Crawford fight a lot more than they do now. It wouldn’t be viewed as a silly gimmick fight.

“I think he [Crawford] can catch him because he might be faster. I just don’t see it. How is he going to get the respect of Canelo? This is Canelo. One of the best fighters ever. Canelo is as strong as hell and can take a punch,” said Prograis.

Crawford’s shots did not affect Israil Madrimov at 154. It was like he was getting hit by a jab, and his head didn’t even budge when Terence hit him. He shouldn’t even try to punch with Canelo because he doesn’t stand a chance of winning a shootout with the Mexican superstar. He’s not built to get in the trenches with Alvarez. What Crawford should do is box and move all night like Floyd Mayweather Jr. did in his win over Canelo in 2012. Yeah, it’ll be ugly and the fans will boo, but his chances of winning will be greater.

“I think the weight is going to be too much. He’s going up two divisions. If you’ve never fought. Madrimov, that was his [Crawford] first fight at 154,” said Prograis. “Madrimov was hitting him. He was touching him up a little bit. This is Canelo. If this were just another bigger guy, I would go with Crawford. This might be the best Mexican fighter ever. I know everybody wants Crawford to win. They want the underdog to win.”

It doesn’t matter what fans want. If Crawford can’t raise his game from what we saw a year ago in his debut at 154 against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov, he’ll lose. It’s already a bad sign that he’s put on a lot of weight for the clash, hoping that the added size will enable him to defeat Alvarez.

Why Tune-up Fights Matter

Crawford should have gotten two fights at 168 in the year he’s been out and kept himself sharp for the fight. Fighting Osleys Iglesias, and Diego Pacheco would have been the perfect tune-ups for Bud. Even if he lost to one or both, he’d still likely be given the Canelo fight.

Turki Alalshikh likes Crawford. So, he’d given him a break if he got decimated by the Cuban Iglesias and had the same done to him by Pacheco. If it’s the legacy that Crawford really cares about and not the payday, he’d have stayed busy.