By Dan Ambrose: Shane Mosley thinks Canelo Alvarez is too big & strong for Terence Crawford to defeat him if the Omaha, Nebraska native were to move up to 168 to challenge him for his undisputed crown.
Mosley does feel that Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is the better fighter than Canelo (58-2-2, 39 KOs) and would defeat him if they were the same size. The only thing that would hold Crawford back is his objection to challenging himself against the bigger punchers at 168.
If Crawford were willing to move up to 168 instead of 154, he could make big things happen and rapidly take over the division by fighting three times a year for the next two to three years.
All the biggest fights are at 168, waiting for Crawford. He says he wants to fight Jerrmell Charlo, but he’s moved up to 168 and likely won’t return to 154.
If Terence wants Jermell, Canelo & David Benavidez to make generational money to create a Crawford dynasty like the wealthy Kennedy & Rockefeller families, moving up to 168 is the way to go.
Crawford has nothing to fear at 168
If Crawford tested the waters at super middleweight against someone like Caleb Plant or Demetrius Andrade, he’d discover that he has nothing to fear from a fighter like Canelo.
Once Crawford beats those guys, he’ll be ready for Canelo, as long as the Mexican star chooses to avoid him as he’s been doing with David Benavidez since time immemorial.
There’s not much difference in actual weight that separates the two, and it’s quite possible that Crawford could quickly move up to 168 and Canelo a lot of problems, perhaps even beating him.
At best, Canelo has a 15-lb weight advantage over Crawford, and that’s not a lot when you look at the history of boxing, with many great fighters beating bigger guys. Size doesn’t win fights, and Crawford should know that by now.
Canelo is too big for Crawford
“I think Canelo would be a little too big for Bud. If Canelo & Bud were the same size, Bud would have the advantage, but I think Canelo has the advantage because he’s really a lot bigger than Bud,” said Shane Mosley to Fighthype on how Terence Crawford would do against Canelo Alvarez.
“He’s too powerful and fast for Bud with Canelo. I would have to say Canelo in that situation, but I wouldn’t say he’s a better fighter than Bud. I just think he’s bigger.”
Is the 5’8″ Canelo too big for the 5’8 Crawford? If you look at the stats, you’ll see that Crawford has a four-inch reach advantage over Canelo, and that’s significant. With that kind of reach, Crawford could easily stay on the outside and outbox Canelo all night.
We saw how badly Canelo struggled early on against Amir Khan, who was dominating him with a simple jab. It wasn’t until Khan got careless in the sixth by throwing a slow jab that Canelo could capitalize on that mistake by knocking him out with a right hand.
Crawford won’t make that same mistake because all of his jabs are fast & powerful. If Canelo tries to counter Crawford’s jab, he’ll open himself to his right hand.
Errol will be more competitive at 154
“Crawford did an amazing job. He did everything he was supposed to do in that fight, but I just think that Spence wasn’t himself. He wasn’t 100%,” said Mosley about Crawford’s win over Errol Spence Jr.
“I think losing the weight from 185 and 190 to get to 147 and get in the ring with somebody like a Crawford, it’s something that you can’t do, and I just think that he wasn’t himself. But like I said, that’s not Crawford’s fault.”
Once Crawford has beaten Spence the second time, he can disprove the weight drain theory that some boxing fans have, wash his hands of this rivalry & move up to 168.
Fans will see that weight had nothing to do with Crawford’s ninth round TKO victory over Spence last weekend. Terence was simply the better fighter.
“Crawford did everything he’s supposed to do. He won the title, and actually, he looked amazing,” said Mosley. “The power, the speed, the ring generalship, the calmness, the bounce, the move, everything was just on point.”
It was obvious from the first round that Crawford was on another level than Spence, and again, that had nothing to do with weight and more to do with talent.
“I really do. I think it’s going to be a more competitive fight if he goes up seven pounds because I know from experience fighting at 135 and
then you know, trying to get in the ring, I feel weak, I feel slow, my timing is off,” said Mosley about how Spence will be stronger at 154 and more competitive with Crawford.
It’s still too early to know if Spence will take the rematch because his confidence has got to be at an all-time low right now, and he probably won’t want to take the risk of fighting Crawford again after what happened to him.
“I remember a champion named ‘Chicanito Genaro Hernández telling me, ‘I know when you’re close to your weight because you’re not as fast and you’re not as strong,’ and like, ‘Really? He’s like, ‘Really,'” said Mosley.
“So when I got to 147, he didn’t like to spar me when I was at 147-150, but I got down to like 38, 39, 36, he’d love to get in the ring.
“‘Oh yeah, you want to spar with me? No problem,’ because I wasn’t strong, and I think that Spence has outgrown the 147-pound weight division. 154 is probably going to be hard, too, but 160 will probably be the best for Spence, but 154 is a lot better than 147.
“I think that we’ll get a better fight out of Spence, and then Crawford will have to pick up his thing. Maybe it’ll be a better fight, but I still go for Crawford.
“I still believe Crawford will win by the movement and just his pure boxing IQ and everything. Being in the ring with Spence and beating him like that, I think mentally, will play a part in Spence’s psyche. So, I still give the advantage and the edge to Crawford,” said Mosley.
