Demetrius Andrade believes Canelo Alvarez is too big, too strong and too technical for Terence Crawford to step up to super middleweight and challenge him for his three titles the way he’s advocating.
Too big, too strong
Former two-division world champion Andrada feels she is too big for the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to move up two weight classes from 154 to have a chance at beating WBA, WBC and WBO 168-lb champion Canelo ( 62-2-2, 39 KOs).
The Nebraska native, Crawford, is campaigning to move up to 168 to take on Canelo first without any weight class experience. He just wants a world title shot to be handed to him without first securing it by defeating the top contenders in line like David Morell, David Benavidez, Cristian Mbili and Diego Pacheco.
It wouldn’t be a problem if Terence was willing to earn the title by beating the four fighters standing in front of him, but he doesn’t want to. He wants Canelo to correct him based on his credentials from what he has done in other weight classes.
If you look at Crawford’s resume, there isn’t much to see other than beating Errol Spence, who was injured in a car accident. The other half-decent win on Crawford’s resume came against Israil Madrimov, but he nearly lost to him and looked miserable, eating right hands all night.
Crawford moved up to 154 last summer on Aug. 3 and dropped a narrow 12-round unanimous decision win over Madrimov. It was a fight Terence could have easily lost had Madrymov put his foot on the gas in the last three rounds of the punching election. Even in defeat, Madrimov made Crawford look old and made it clear that he had reached his ceiling. He can’t go from 154 to 160 or 168 without losing.
Canelo’s advantages
“Yes, I believe so.” I love Crawford. He is a good friend, and we talk to each other. But when it comes to weight and strength, that s*** is real,” said Demetrius Andrade Fight Hub TV when asked if Canelo Alvarez is too big for Terence Crawford.
“Skills too. Canelo is not a foodie. Look what he did to the little girl, (Jermell) Charlo. Charlo was the big bad wolf and was running away from several hooks all night. Canelo threw a couple of hooks, and just ran all night. Where is it (intensity and courage)? Let’s fight.
“I think Crawford has the skills, but when it comes to landing and blocking shots, power shots, and Canelo knows how to move as well. He has agility. He’s not like a robot. It will be difficult. My opinion is my opinion. “I don’t think Crawford can beat Canelo,” Andrade said.
Crawford is too small to fight at 168 against Canelo. The fight would be for money only, and would be similar to when Canelo defended his super middleweight title against Jermell Scharl last year in September. Jermell advanced to 154 and was given a title shot against Canelo without proof.
He ran all night after feeling Canelo’s power in the first round, and the fans felt ripped off afterwards. It was a joke. If Jermell had tried to prove himself by fighting Benavides or Morel, he would have been wiped out by a one-sided loss or knockout, and the fans wouldn’t have been robbed of seeing him get to Canelo. In the real world, Crawford would have to earn a title shot against Kane like the other contenders, but he’s looking for a shortcut to get a huge payday. It’s pathetic and wrong for the sport.
“Do I think he can give him a good fight? “I’m going to sit there and root for Crawford all day,” Andrade said of Crawford. “I’ll always bet black, always, but the reality is Canelo knows how to fight.” He knows how to get into the big ones, and he knows how to throw hard shots.
“He’s also a technical guy. Look what he did to Callum Smith – elbowing, arm punching, all that other stuff. He will use the same tactics on the smaller guy (Crawford). I’m just saying. I’m just talking about real boxing facts. I’m not trying to be in this fantasy world because that’s not what I’m in,” Andrade said.
