Terence Crawford has only two losses in Canelo Alvarez’s career to study going into their fight, and they do not make good watching for the challenger.
While Terence Crawford is undefeated in his 41 fights, Canelo was beaten for the first time against Floyd Mayweather back in 2013.
Canelo was the bigger man, but the incredible defensive movement of Mayweather proved unstoppable, as he handily beat Canelo in a twelve-round fight.
The Mexican’s other loss came just three years ago, but it told a much different story that should worry Crawford ahead of their fight.
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Dmitry Bivol used his size advantage to neutralize Canelo Alvarez after his jump up in weight
Almost a decade after he lost to Mayweather, Canelo made the mistake of jumping up one weight class too many in his chase to become a four-weight champion.
The Mexican jumped up to Light Heavyweight to challenge WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. The Russian was comfortable at that weight, while Canelo was a Welterweight who had excelled up to Super Middleweight, but it was clear that 175 lbs was a step too far for him.
While they weighed in at similar weights, Bivol had the height and reach advantage in the fight. Additionally, he carried the weight more naturally on his frame, as opposed to the bloat of muscle filling Canelo’s body.
Bivol expertly used the size to his advantage, keeping out of Canelo’s range by controlling the distance and not letting him inside, where he could do some real damage with his power punches.
It was an expert performance. Canelo landed more punches on Mayweather than he did on Bivol, landing just 17% of his punches throughout the fight.
The bulk of them hit Bivol’s arms as he masterfully blocked nearly everything Canelo threw at him, taking home a win via a points decision that flattered Canelo.
While his game plan was perfect, seeing Canelo jump up weight classes to lose to an expert fighter should make Crawford think about whether taking this fight was the best idea.
Terence Crawford may have fallen into the same trap for his fight with Canelo Alvarez
Canelo’s loss to Bivol could prove prophetic of Crawford’s own step up in weight classes for the fight against the undisputed champion.
Canelo has been a dominant champion at Super Middleweight over the past few years, while the #3 Pound-for-Pound Crawford has arguably been more impressive, but at a much lighter weight.
His last fight came at Light Middleweight, two weights below the 167.5 lbs he weighed in at the day before the clash with Canelo.
Bud has packed on the muscle, weighing in much heavier than at any point in his career, and could face the same struggles to carry that weight in the ring as Canelo did against Bivol.
All the champion needs to do is follow the example set by Bivol, and he should have no issues beating Crawford.