Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are on top of the boxing world but their recent performances weren’t outstanding.
Alvarez in particular was heavily criticized in his win over William Scull, which ended up setting the record for the fewest punches thrown in a 12-round fight.
Crawford hasn’t fought in over a year and his last fight with Israil Madrimov certainly wasn’t his best outing, even if it didn’t receive the same kind of harsh feedback.
This matchup wouldn’t be happening if ‘Bud’ didn’t continue to try and challenge himself by moving up weight classes to take on bigger opponents.
While both Alvarez and Crawford have stunning records, a legendary boxing coach and commentator recently addressed what might be the elephant in the room.
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Teddy Atlas says there’s ‘potential’ that Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford is taking place too late
In the build up to this weekend’s blockbuster main event at Allegiant Stadium, Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford have been spoken about as the two very best.
Their accomplishments certainly put them in the pound-for-pound conversation but Teddy Atlas had one concern to raise ahead of September 13.
During a recent episode of THE FIGHT, Atlas brought up how this matchup compares to the biggest fight in boxing history between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, before speaking about a narrative that this bout became famous for.
“I hope that’s the only similarity to it. I hope it doesn’t become disappointing the way that fight did where people said that at the end of the day, and rightfully so, it was very disappointing and it was at least five years too late. Nobody else has touched on this.”
Atlas went on to say that he believes there is “potential” that this could also be the case once the dust settles on September 13.
He said that no one is talking about this ahead of the fight, but for example, if Alvarez loses and can’t keep up with Crawford, there will be a narrative that he should’ve fought him several years earlier.
“I hope we’re not getting that,” Atlas added. “But I see, and I’m not wishing it, it’s a fight that I want to see, but I see the possibility of that cloud hanging over it.”
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Teddy Atlas referred back to Floyd Mayweather when predicting Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford
Teddy Atlas has stuck to his guns when predicting that Terence Crawford will emerge victorious on September 13.
In his final preview of the fight, he made reference to Canelo Alvarez’s 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather.
While acknowledging that this bout took place a long time ago and a lot has changed, Atlas pointed to Alvarez not being able to keep up with his opponent because his legs weren’t fast enough.
He believes that Crawford might be able to exploit the same things that Mayweather did when handing the Mexican star his first loss.
“Canelo couldn’t close the gaps fast enough (against Mayweather”), and I think he’s going to have a problem in that same area,” Atlas said. “Everybody says Canelo is the bigger guy, the more powerful guy. OK, fine. But if he’s not throwing the more powerful punches in large quantities, then he’s not as dangerous as you think he is.”