Trainer Andre Rozier doesn't like the idea of Terrence Crawford moving up to 168 to challenge Canelo Alvarez's IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight titles.
His Excellency Turki Alarcik is interested in putting together a fight between Crawford and Canelo in December or January. If the fight goes ahead, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will move up two weight classes to take on Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs).
Crawford has been competing at welterweight since 2018, and has now moved up to junior middleweight to challenge for Israil Madrimov's WBA title on August 3 in Los Angeles. This will be Crawford's first fight at 154 years old.
If Crawford wins, he could move up two weight classes and face Canelo at super middleweight, which would be a big jump. Crawford is 36 years old and has been fighting once a year since 2019, so beating Madrimov will be tough enough.
By the time the fight takes place, Crawford will have been out of the ring for 13 months and will be approaching 37 years old. The combination of lack of athleticism, age, and fighting in the division against one of the most powerful punchers could be too much for Crawford.
“i don't like it”
“I don't like it. Canelo hasn't been shaken by anyone and he's fought big punchers. I don't like that fight with Crawford,” trainer Andre Rozier said in Saudi Arabia. spoke to FightHype about the possibility of a matchup between Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, who have expressed interest in hosting the fight.
“I like him at 154, and maybe he'll hit the ground running at 160, but I don't like him at 168,” Rozier continued of Crawford. “He's a great athlete and he's a great boxer, so he'll box well, but I don't want to see TC go into such depth.”
I think Crawford knows it's a risk, but he wants to make as much money as possible before retiring soon. Fighting Canelo would be Crawford's biggest reward, and a win could earn him a second victory in a rematch. Of course, if Canelo blows Crawford out of the water, that could be the case for him as well.
Weight classes exist for a reason.
“When it comes to money, it's a different story, but his legacy is being mourned in a wonderful way, and I don't want to see it tarnished by too much,” Rozier said.
“I think he's already there. He's going to be in the Hall of Fame. There's a ton of statistics to his credit. I don't want to see him end up in a situation like this. [he could get beat]. he has to achieve it. I just can't see it. ”
With Crawford, it's about money. He wants to cash in on the big money he got from his last fight with Errol Spence, and only Canelo can offer that paycheck. Speaking of sports, Crawford will stay at No. 147 and fight Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
“Things like this haven't happened before. It used to be a bolt out of the blue, but now it's a modus operandi,” Rozier said of the lack of fighters moving up two or three weight classes in one move.
“Right now I'm like, 'I'm fighting at 140. In a year, I'm going to be fighting at cruiserweight.'” It's ridiculous. There's a saying that gets thrown around a lot, but it's true. There’s a reason we have weight classes,” Rozier said.