Timothy Bradley, a three-time boxing champion who took a belt from Manny Pacquiao, predicts Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez despite being the smaller man, because the Mexican hasn’t knocked anyone out since 2021.
The pair have been tipped to meet in the ring since the end of 2024, but so far nothing has actually materialized. All the same, there is a lot of excitement about the idea of the unified super-middleweight king taking on the light-middleweight champion.
It would pit an intelligent and powerful switch-hitting brawler in Crawford up against a relentless pressure fighter in Canelo, who is very durable, hits hard and is renowned for his talented counter-punching defense.
But on the note of the latter, Bradley thinks his power has faded enough that it won’t be a problem for Bud to face in the ring, even if he has to step up two divisions to make the super-middleweight fight night a reality.
“Everyone keeps talking about the weight, ‘Oh, he gonna knock him out,'” Bradley said via his YouTube channel. “When the hell was the last time Canelo knocked somebody out?
“Y’all can quit with that, ‘He’s gonna knock Crawford out.’ Come on, man. Didn’t we just see somebody [Oleksandr Usyk] fight a guy [Tyson Fury] who was – quote, unquote – 50 pounds heavier?
“Canelo‘s the same height [as Crawford]. … He’s not a natural 168lbs! He is a great fighter! Absolutely! But you know who else is a great one, is Crawford. The great ones know how to figure it out.”
Is Bradley correct?
Whilst is true that Canelo‘s last stoppage came against Caleb Plant at the MGM Grand in November 2021, Bradley is overlooking the fact that the Mexican has faced, and beaten, reputable names in the likes of Gennady Golovkin, John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga.
He’s had five wins since his last knockout, and all came via unanimous decision in comfortable performances as he retains his unified super-middleweight belts. His only defeat in that time came to Russia’s Dmitry Bivol when he challenged for the WBA light-heavyweight belt.