Daniel Jacobs says he’s leaning toward Terence Crawford winning on September 13th against Canelo Alvarez due to Crawford’s skill set. The former two-time middleweight champion Jacobs feels that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has the edge against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) in the offensive stats department.
The only thing that Jacobs questions is whether Crawford can slow Canelo down with his power, because if he can’t, he’s going to walk him down to unload his bigger shots all night. Crawford couldn’t do that, moving up to 154 in his last fight a year ago against Israil Madrimov.
His power didn’t carry up from 147, and he took a lot of punches from the stronger Madrimov and was very lucky to be given the win. Many fans thought Crawford lost. I watched it and had Madrimov winning 9-3.
Bivol Comparison Flawed
“The biggest difference between Bivol and Crawford is the size difference and the power. Even though Bivol was the ultimate boxer, he was still able to keep him off with the sheer power and strength,” said Daniel Jacobs to Fight Hub TV, talking about the last opponent Canelo Alvarez lost to, Dmitry Bivol, in 2022.
Jacobs is forgetting to mention the age of Bivol compared to Crawford. Bivol was 31 when Canelo lost to him in 2022. In contrast, Crawford will turn 38 in September, is considerably older, smaller, and has been less active in his career than Bivol was when he fought Canelo three years ago.
Jacobs is making a strange comparison by mentioning Bivol alongside Crawford, as they are entirely different in terms of age, size, power, and activity. It’s a useless comparison.
“With Crawford, it’ll be challenging for Canelo to get around his skillset, but it wouldn’t be challenging for him to endure the pain. The mindset is [for Canelo], ‘If you can’t hurt me, I’m going to keep coming forward.’”
I don’t see it as challenging at all for Canelo. What will be difficult is for the Mexican star to catch up to Terence because he’s going to be on his bike like he was in a fight against Israil Madrimov.
Crawford’s Defensive Strategy
He’ll be circling around the ring, trying to win rounds with his jab, throwing single shots, and tying Canelo up when he tries to get close. That’s what we saw from Crawford against Madrimov last August. It looked Shakur-esque, but with a lot of holding mixed in. Bud can’t stand and fight Canelo because the difference in power is too significant.
He’ll try initially to fight Alvarez, but once he gets hit, he’ll start moving a lot. Turki Alalshikh is likely to regret using Crawford as an opponent for Canelo, as he won’t engage enough to make it an entertaining match for the fans watching on Netflix.
Many casual fans will switch the fight off and start watching movies on that platform. It was a bad idea for Turki to use Crawford rather than one of the younger, bigger, more entertaining fighters, like David Benavidez, David Morrell, or Osleys Iglesias.
Canelo’s Mindset Against Crawford
“So, if Canelo can adapt to that mindset and take the shots because he’s going to be throwing. If you look at the stats in terms of punches landed, Crawford is leading. I would lean more towards Crawford because of his skillset,” said Jacobs.
Crawford is weaker, slower, smaller, older, and less mobile than Canelo’s last opponent, former IBF super middleweight champion William Scull. Crawford looked considerably weaker and slower than Scull in his last fight against Israil Madrimov 11 months ago in August 2024.
The Omaha, Nebraska native Terence will be a year older when he faces Canelo, and he won’t be more powerful or faster than he showed in what many felt was a loss to Madrimov. When you look at the combined things that Bud has going against him, you can’t pick him to win because this is not the 147-lb division. He’s also gotten older.
Impact of Time Off
What Crawford was in 2023 when he beat the car crash-wrecked Errol Spence, that person doesn’t exist anymore. He’s aged, and he hasn’t helped himself by taking year-long breaks and going on extended victory laps. He looks like he’s aged five years since his career-best win against the faded Spence.
It’s foolish what Crawford has done by taking so much time off, but it gives you a glimpse of his work ethic and how he enjoys basking in the glow of his wins. But he gets so caught up in it, he doesn’t want to go back to work.
Last Updated on 07/03/2025
