Terence Crawford has clarified his decision to bypass a warm-up bout at his new weight class and move directly to super-middleweight to challenge Canelo Alvarez. He explained his reasoning for not taking an intermediate fight either at middleweight or super-middleweight before facing Alvarez.
The 37-year-old superstar aims for history on September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, seeking to become a three-division undisputed world champion by challenging Canelo for all four super-middleweight titles.
With a 17-year career spanning 41 fights, Crawford has captured multiple world championships, achieving undisputed status at both super-lightweight (140lbs) and welterweight (147lbs). Roughly ten months prior, he stepped up to super-welterweight (154lbs) to defeat WBA champion Israil Madrimov. His next move sees him leap another 14 pounds to the super-middleweight division (168lbs) for the showdown with Canelo.
Referencing his track record, Crawford stated, “If you look at my career I always went straight to the champion… except 140, I had to fight for a vacant title but I always went for the champion. I think whether I fight a non-champion or a champion it’s going to be the same thing.”
The press tour promoting the highly anticipated September fight is actively underway. During a recent stop in New York, the two fighters had another face-to-face encounter following their initial appearance in Riyadh. This time, promoter Dana White intervened after Canelo pushed Crawford, prompting a heated reaction from `Bud` before security stepped in. This interaction, while potentially a display of Canelo`s perceived strength advantage, also highlights the role of ring IQ and craft, as Crawford explained.
On the interplay between physical attributes and skill, Crawford remarked, “All of that goes hand in hand. My style, you know, I’m very powerful, explosive, strong and that’s why I have the ability to adapt to a lot of fighters because I can do so many things in the ring.”
