The Canelo Alvarez–Terence Crawford showdown being negotiated for September in Las Vegas is a fight that everyone wants to see. The mere idea of the fight happening has got the whole combat sports world buzzing and everyone is looking forward to it.
However, the potential fight has also created a split among the boxing community as experts and fighters are sharing their predictions. On Tuesday, Jake Paul surprised everyone by choosing ‘Bud’ as his winner in a fight where Canelo is clearly the heavy favorite. However, one of the greatest boxers ever, the Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, has now given his own two cents regarding the rumored bout.
Canelo Alvarez for the win?
A few days ago, ESNEWS caught up with the three-weight world champion and asked him about the upcoming potential bout. With no doubt and hesitation in his voice, the 107-6 boxer confidently predicted, “Canelo will knock him out in six or seven rounds.”
While the unified super middleweight champion has been a heavy favorite in the prediction battle, unlike Chavez, everyone thinks that Crawford will pose a huge challenge for Canelo. However, the 62-year-old thinks that the Omaha native won’t even go the distance against Canelo. Given everything that Bud Crawford has achieved, this sure seems surprising.
However, Chavez has no doubts about the former pound-for-pound king’s ability but the weight discrepancy will be too much despite his superior skills. “Crawford is good fighter but there’s weight classes,” Julio César Chávez explained. This has been a constant trend in the predictions for this dream match. While no one has any doubts about Terence Crawford’s abilities, the majority thinks that he won’t be able to put on the 13lbs extra weight and still hope to move as fast as Canelo, who has been at super middleweight for years now. Except for a few, who think that the weight won’t matter much if the Omaha native is in form.
Terence Crawford’s superior skills will help him outright Canelo
As Jake Paul appeared on the first episode of the Ring Champs podcast hosted by Akin “Ak” Reyes and Barak Bess on the All The Smoke YouTube channel, he shared his verdict on the fight. He thinks that it will be an interesting bout because no one has seen ‘Bud’ this heavy. However, as the Southpaw has proven himself in multiple divisions, it won’t matter to him. Furthermore, Paul thinks “that Terrence has the skill and is a bit fresher than Canelo. If I had to put my money on it, I would probably go with Terrence.”
While Jake Paul definitely surprised everyone with his choice, he is not the only one preferring the super welterweight over Canelo Alvarez. The undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk joined Steve Kim and Mario Lopez in The 3 Knockdown Rule podcast recently. While discussing the fight, Usyk had a proud expression and made it clear where his heart goes. “I like Terrence; it’s …my friend, but it’s crazy man. Listen, I… I say Terence win yes, …Terrence win, but listen, Terence, it’s different, man. Terence work in two… two sides—right and left, but it’s very smart, man. It’s very, very very smart, but feel, distance and the place…” stated Usyk picking Terence Crawford as his favorite.
Whether the majority will be proven right or the few supporting Terence Crawford will laugh at everyone in the end, we will find out soon enough. Till then, seeing the boxing world split over this headache of a question has been fun. Do you think Canelo Alvarez will win via KO? Let us know your thoughts down below.
The post Disagreeing With Jake Paul, Boxing Legend Warns Terence Crawford About Fighting Canelo Alvarez appeared first on EssentiallySports.