Terence Crawford not concerned about judging, plans to win decisively

READ: VIDEO: How Canelo’s Legacy Would Be ‘Massively’ Tarnished By

Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford undercard fight in jeopardy as legal action threatened

Promoter Don King is looking to prevent Michael Hunter from fighting Jarrell Miller.

The heavyweight clash was recently announced for September 11, as part of an unprecedented three-day undercard for Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford’s undisputed super middleweight showdown.

However, King, who claims to have a legally binding contract with Hunter, has issued a cease-and-desist letter to event organisers TKO Group Holdings and their financiers, SELA.

JUST IN: VIDEO: How Canelo’s Legacy Would Be ‘Massively’ Tarnished By

King has a grievance with the fight as he recently won the purse bids in May to stage Kubrat Pulev vs Hunter for the lesser WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title.

“They continue to disobey the WBA and its clear directive on the Pulev-Hunter championship fight,” said King in a press release distributed to various members of the media.

“Hunter is under contract to Don King Productions, and he’ll be fighting for a world championship.”

King won the promotional rights for the bout with a $1.1million bid.

The Hall of Famer was the sole bidder as Pulev’s promotional outfit, Epic Sports & Entertainment, refused to take part after Hunter claimed he was a free agent.

The WBA subsequently denied two appeals from Pulev’s promoter to have the fight thrown out.

Pulev vs Hunter has been slated to take place on August 23 in Florida, but the confirmation of Hunter vs Miller for three weeks after the proposed date has thrown a spanner in the works.

In light of the announcement, WBA interim champion Fabio Wardley has instructed his team to explore a shot at Pulev’s belt.

“I think the WBA said that this has to be cleared up before the end of the year, so whoever has the interim belt has to fight for the regular belt before the end of the year,” Wardley told Ring Magazine.

“So if that doesn’t happen, we have to have a word with the WBA and say, ‘Hang on, what are we doing here?’

“I’m not the one holding things up. I’ve done my job, won by knockout, so how do we get things moving?

“We are hot on that, we’re checking in and making sure things are moving properly.

“This is just boxing at the top, isn’t it? It all gets a bit stop-start and stagnant.

“Right now, my plan is to fight for that regular belt, and I’m not looking at other options.

“Sometimes you have to wait and hold your position. I’m at the point now where I don’t have to fight for the sake of fighting.

“It depends on what the WBA say, but my argument will be that I’ve done my job, I’m busy, I’m active and also ready to go now.”

Canelo’s Legacy Would Be ‘Massively’ Tarnished By Crawford Loss, Says Algier

Chris Algieri believes that a loss for Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford will “tarnish his legacy” for good. He will have lost to a former lightweight champion, who is moving up two divisions at 37 on September 13th.

Algieri believes that the loss for Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) would fan the flames for the criticism he’s already receiving for ducking certain fighters during his career. He shouldn’t lose to someone as old, inactive, and small as Crawford. The difference in resumes between the two fighters is massive. Crawford has an Adrien Broner-type resume.

READ: VIDEOS: Terence Crawford’s smashed greatest rival to achieve his

Canelo has fought opposition that is actually good, fighters like Gennadiy Golovkin, Dmitry Bivol, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Erislandy Lara.

THE MASSIVE TARNISH ON CANELO’S LEGACY

“The guy may do it, and if he loses, I don’t really think it affects his legacy all that much. All the accomplishments that he already has, Crawford. They’re not going to be forgotten. He’s jumping up two weight classes,” said Chris Algieri to Fight Hub TV, talking about there being no downside for Terence Crawford going up against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.

Crawford’s accomplishments aren’t much if you look at his resume. He’s a four-division world champion and a two-division undisputed champion. His actual wins aren’t impressive at all if you follow the sport and understand who is good. He beat B-level fighters.

The only A-level guy Crawford beat was Israil Madrimov, and that was controversial. “So, I think it’s a win-win, loss-loss situation for these guys. A win-win for Crawford, and a lose-lose for Canelo. That’s a great point made by Crawford. That’s a good way to get under Canelo’s skin,” said Algieri. “Yeah, there is a lot on the line for Canelo because if he loses this, the tarnish on his legacy is massive. He lost to a welterweight. He lost to a lightweight. He was a lightweight world champion.”

The $100 Million Canelo Payday Canelo knows it’s a no-win situation. That’s why he didn’t want to fight Crawford in the first place. The only reason he chose to is because Turki Alalshikh lured him with a career-high $100 million payday. So, if Alvarez loses, the money will be a salve for his wounded feelings. He can drown his sorrows with the mega-millions and invent reasons why he was beaten.

“He [Crawford] jumped up two weight classes. He was 30 years old [correction: 37, pushing 38 on September 28]. There’s going to be a lot of that. A lot of the criticism Canelo has been receiving lately, for not fighting certain guys, is going to come back to haunt him that much more,” said Algieri. A loss to Crawford will show fans that Alvarez hasn’t improved since his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.

He was gifted decisions over Gennadiy Golovkin and Erislandy Lara. He waited until GGG was 36 before he finally fought him. Losing to an old Crawford, who should have lost his last fight against Israil Madrimov, would prove the theories fans have about Canelo being a pampered, protected fighter. “I like Canelo, but he gets a lot of heat out there. So, I think a loss here is going to be a lot more. A loss here is going to fan those flames,” said Algieri.

CRAWFORD FIGHT SHOULDN’T HAPPEN

The criticism Canelo has been getting won’t go away regardless of how good he looks against Crawford. Fans won’t let him forget that he’s swerved David Benavidez, David Morrell, Diego Pacheco, and Christian Mbilli. Fighting an old, small Crawford, who is coming off an abysmal performance in his debut at 154 last year, won’t take that away. This fight should not even be happening if boxing were regulated like other sports.

Terence Crawford Reveals Future Plans Before $200M Canelo Alvarez Fight

Over a year ago, Terence Crawford made his 154-pound debut. In the lead-up to the Israil Madrimov bout, talks of a showdown with Canelo Alvarez had begun to swirl.

So during a catch-up with Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, Marcos Villegas got ahead of himself and asked, “If you guys win this, the undisputed titles at 68?” The award-winning trainer responded, “We could all can retire from that; after that, you know what I’m saying, we can retire after that, and we just sit back and do what you doing.” Twelve months later, the fight — perhaps the decade’s biggest — is just around the corner.

Only a few weeks remain before Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez settle the debate at Allegiant Stadium. Yet one question still lingers: what will the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world do after September 13? Canelo, at just 35, is likely to continue for some time. It’s Crawford most people seem to worry about. A fortnight after the match, he will turn 38. Considering the mouthwatering split of the $200 million purse, some might think Crawford will call it a day.

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After all, he told Piers Morgan, “I always say I was going to retire from boxing. I wasn’t going to let boxing retire me.” But it seems the Nebraskan isn’t shy about entertaining other options.

Yesterday, Pro Boxing Fans shared a comment from Terence Crawford. “@tbudcrawford on what the future may hold after @canelo 🔮,” their caption read. So according to Crawford, he isn’t rushing into anything at the moment. It’s “one fight at a time,” he stated.

It largely depends on the outcome of the Canelo match. There’s a good chance he might move back to 154 pounds; Crawford currently holds the light-middleweight WBA belt. “Maybe I’ll go back down to 154. And try to become undisputed,” he said. There is another option. A rematch with Canelo. To sum it up, everything is still up in the air.

“Right now we’re just focused on the task at hand, and that’s Canelo,” Terence Crawford made clear. To set the record straight, he expressed similar thoughts during a fan Q&A in Sydney, Australia. Not looking beyond the Canelo fight, he said, “I don’t eat before my food on my table. So, right now, I’m at 168 to fight Canelo. And that’s the only thing I’m thinking about right now.”

In a previous instance, Crawford spoke about a move back to 154 pounds.

The 154-pound landscape and Terence Crawford

With the likes of Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr., and now Xander Zayas leading the pack, light middleweight has become boxing’s most stacked and exciting division. Two years ago, Terence Crawford humbled Errol Spence Jr. to unify all four belts in the welterweight division.

Win or lose against Canelo, he could scale down from 168 and first face one of the reigning champions for title unification. Fans might recall. Amid the talks for the Canelo fight, a matchup between Crawford and WBC champion Sebastian Fundora, who also held the WBO title at the time, appeared on the horizon. But it quickly fizzled out.

But considering his age and achievements, which include a guaranteed Hall of Fame career, a few believe Crawford could step down and hang up the gloves. Floyd Mayweather’s uncle, former super featherweight titleholder turned trainer Jeff Mayweather, opined, “I think if he beats Canelo, I think that’ll be enough for him.”

Perhaps what Crawford said remains the most sensible course of action. Take things one at a time and stay focused on the task ahead, rather than worrying about the future.

Terence Crawford makes surprising admission ahead of Canelo Alvarez fight following recent criticism of both men

On September 13, a dream matchup will finally take place in what is likely the biggest fight of the year.

Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford may have one common opponent but for years, the potential of seeing them go head-to-head seemed unlikely.

READ: Jake Paul Gains Rare Support From MMA Fans as

Over time, the weight discrepancy between them has been reduced, with ‘Bud’ continuing to collect more belts and accolades as he moved through multiple weight classes.

While Mike Tyson urged Crawford not to pursue this fight, the American has been wanting to test himself against another of the sport’s top stars for a while now.

There’s no denying that it’s a true super fight between two all-time greats but neither of them has earned rave reviews for their recent performances.

Terence Crawford says both he and Canelo Alvarez ‘need to step it up’ following their recent performances

Canelo Alvarez facing Terence Crawford is exactly the kind of matchup that boxing fans dream of.

Both men have shown a remarkable ability to shine under the brightest lights and to deliver their best performances when the stakes are highest.

They’ve also both been criticized for their recent performances inside the ring that didn’t exactly leave fans on the edge of their seats.

Fortunately, they’re such huge stars and this is such a dream clash that it likely won’t have much impact on the fight itself, though Crawford did recently acknowledge that they both may have a point to prove.

In a recent interview with Boxing News, ‘Bud’ was asked whether he was able to gain confidence from Alvarez’s heavily criticized win over William Scull where a lack of activity from both men led to a new record being set for the fewest punches thrown in a 12-round fight in CompuBox history.

Crawford responded by saying that he may be in a similar position after his last fight with Israil Madrimov ended up being more competitive than many expected after he went the full 12 rounds for the first time since 2016.

“A lot of people criticized my last performance so, you know what I mean? We both need to step it up I guess.”

Terence Crawford wouldn’t reveal whether he’ll come after Canelo Alvarez on September 13

The fact that Terence Crawford’s latest win saw him go the full 12-round distance for the first time since 2016 shows just how dangerous a finisher the American is.

There’s always a risk with any fight of this magnitude that due to the stakes involved, the two fighters will become too cautious and the matchup won’t live up to the expectations.

While Crawford didn’t give anything away when speaking to Boxing News, the hope is that he will look to make a statement by going after his opponent.

“That’s why you gotta watch the fight, so you can see.”

Crawford signed off with a quick message to his opponent.

“See you soon.”

Israil Madrimov created the blueprint on how to defeat Terence Crawford a year ago, bringing him down to Earth in front of a large crowd on August 3rd, 2024, in Los Angeles.

What Madrimov created with that performance was a perfect plan on how to solve the Crawford puzzle that had confused 40 of his previous opponents.

CRAWFORD’S VULNERABILITIES EXPOSED BY MADRIMOV

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Although Crawford won a 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113, fans saw it as a victory or, at the minimum, a draw for Madrimov. It didn’t matter that the A-side fighter with all the backing, Crawford, won; the blueprint on how to defeat him had been created by Israil.

Canelo Alvarez and his trainer, Eddy Reynoso, have been studying Madrimov’s performance against Crawford, learning from the technical guru to come up with ideas to use for their September 13th fight in Las Vegas.

There’s a lot Alvarez and the eagle-eyed Reynoso can get from the battle to use against Crawford. Terence’s age, inactivity, and moving up in weight from 147 to 154 also played a small part in Madrimov’s exposing him. Mostly, the flaws in his game were revealed by the more technically skilled Eastern European fighter.

By the midpoint of that fight, Crawford looked lost. You could see the way he was speaking to his trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, in between rounds that he was desperate for answers. But none were forthcoming from BoMac, as he had no idea what to do.

After the sixth, BoMac said, ‘Just box him.’ That didn’t work because in the seventh, Madrimov nailed him with four consecutive right hands, one after another. Each punch snapped Crawford’s head back, making him resemble a bobblehead.

HOW MADRIMOV SOLVED THE CRAWFORD PUZZLE

The former amateur star, Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) showed that Crawford (41-0, 31 kOs) can be beaten by pressure, feints, precise potshot punching. Bud is a counter-puncher who thrived on taking advantage of his opponents’ throwing combinations. Madrimov didn’t do that.

He focused on throwing single power shots to catch Crawford napping. Israil’s footwork also played a part in what many fans felt was a deserved victory. He kept Terence guessing with his movement, because he never knew when the Uzbekistan native would attack him.

Canelo Alvarez gave rival Terence Crawford the ultimate compliment.

Canelo and Crawford are gearing up to fight in a blockbuster clash for the undisputed WBA, WBC IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles on September 13 in Las Vegas.

It has been a largely respectful build-up to the intriguing contest to boxing’s biggest fight this year.

READ: Manny Pacquiao accused of cheating in fights as rival proposes new rematch after comeback

Both Alvarez and Crawford have paid respect to each other’s brilliance in the squared circle, despite having a push and a shove during a heated press conference in June.

‘Bud’ was asked which fightershe believed to be better than his rival Alvarez from a list in July, and in response he named De La Hoya, Bivol and Mayweather, with the latter two having beaten the Mexican.

In a recent interview with the Ring Magazine, Canelo was then instructed to follow the same idea, only responding when a boxer that he thought was better than Crawford was named.

The interviewer listed: Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev, Bernard Hopkins and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Surprisingly, Canelo remained silent effectively ranking Crawford above the list of prestigious operators.

The Mexican himself holds history with Bivol and Mayweather, with both men handing Canelo a loss as they crossed paths in the ring.

So it comes as a big surprise that he has selected both fighters above Crawford.

But it shows that the current king of the division is not taking his new foe at all lightly, and will leave no stone unturned as his training camp continues.

Why is Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford such a big fight?

Both fighters are entering this highly anticipated super-fight with victories in their most recent bouts.

In May, Canelo claimed victory over William Scull, unifying the Cuban’s IBF title with his own WBA, WBC, and WBO belts.

Meanwhile Crawford hasn’t fought since Last September, but became a champion in a fourth weight category in a hard-fought win over Israil Madrimov.

He is stepping into the biggest fight of his career with a perfect 41-0 record.

But the American has never boxed higher than super-welterweight, and he will make the jump up two weight classes in this super-fight on September 13.

Should he take victory and capture the belts, it would be a monumental achievement.

And many believe it will see him brush shoulders with the all-time greats, including Floyd Mayweather, whom he will equal as a five-weight world champion with victory.

As for the champion Alvarez, it would be a seismic win and would see him wipe out yet another leading challenger.

Victory could open up avenues for further lucrative bouts, including a UK debut fight with Hamzah Sheeraz or Chris Eubank Jr.

Timothy Bradley has boldly claimed that even a performance-enhanced version of Canelo Alvarez would still fall short against Terence Crawford when the two pound-for-pound stars collide on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium.

Canelo and Crawford battle it out for all four versions of the super middleweight title, with Bradley firmly backing the underdog in the fight.

Bradley’s Bold Prediction for Canelo vs. Crawford
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, the Hall of Famer didn’t hold back when asked about Canelo’s chances against the undefeated three-division champion.

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“It doesn’t matter if Canelo is on that s*** (PEDS), he isn’t beating Terence Crawford,” said Bradley. “You heard it here first.”

Bradley, who’s never shied away from controversial takes, cast doubt on Canelo’s recent performances while giving complete confidence to Crawford’s continued dominance at 41-0.

“Look at the performances of Canelo. They have been alright, they haven’t been wow, they haven’t blown me away. So I’m not worried,” he continued. “The same will go with Crawford.”

Crawford’s SNAC Partnership and Doping Concerns
The conversation also veered into the topic of nutrition and supplementation, specifically regarding Crawford’s association with SNAC, the company founded by notorious BALCO figure Victor Conte.

A report earlier in the week raised eyebrows over the partnership, but Bradley dismissed concerns about doping.

“I know he is with SNAC and some news came out this week, but I personally believe that SNAC is clean,” said Bradley. “I think it’s a conflict of interest in the fact that [Conte] knows how to beat the system – quote unquote – but at the same time, I think SNAC has got products going around the world to all these athletes, and they are testing and they are not testing positive.”

“So I think they are safe, there is no doubt about it. So I am not worried about that. With that being said, I’m good.”

The Canelo vs Crawford clash happens under the guidance of Turki Alalshikh, TKO, and Dana White, with the super-fight holding legacy-defining repercussions for the winner.

Canelo Alvarez will defend his undisputed super middleweight title against Terence Crawford on September 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a fight of epic proportions with both their legacy’s on the line.

Crawford, 41-0-0 with 31 KOs, is looking to become the first male boxer to become the undisputed champion in three weight classes. However, he has a tough task at hand as he has to get the better of a pound-for-pound great in Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican is 63-2-2 with 39 KO wins.

Out of Alvarez’s 67 professional fights, a handful have been difficult. Back in 2014, Erislandy Lara gave Alvarez one of the hardest fights of his career, which the Mexican won via split decision. Lara used his movement well to get Canelo to hesitate, something William Scull tried to do in May, but he was heavily criticized for avoiding a ‘fight’.

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Erislandy Lara tells Terence Crawford how to beat Canelo Alvarez

Lara reckons Crawford has to use his legs well and move in and out of range. He added that how Crawford handles Canelo’s power could determine a lot. Speaking to FightHype, the 42-year-old WBA middleweight champion said:

“I see it as an interesting 50-50 fight. I feel that Canelo is very strong right now, and I want to see how Crawford handles the power, especially in the early rounds, and what’s going to happen.”

Lara added: “I remember fighting Canelo 14 years (11 years) ago. I remember, I used my legs real good. As long as Crawford uses his legs and doesn’t let Canelo hit him in the arms and beat him up on the arms, he has a very good chance of winning.”

Lara’s advice could be crucial for Crawford, as Canelo himself recently praised the Cuban-American very highly. Movement might actually be key for Crawford.

That said, judging by Crawford’s career, he is a fighter at heart. Hence, it’s unlikely ‘Bud’ would look to circle around the ring the entire time and at certain point, he might look to engage with Canelo.

How he handles what’s being dished out could turn out to be decisive.