By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Abel Sanchez says Canelo Alvarez has nothing to gain from fighting Terence Crawford or Dmitry Bivol. The undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo isn’t talking about fighting either of those guys next, but if he does, Sanchez thinks nothing good would come from it.
In Sanchez’s view, WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) is too big for Canelo, and it would be the same result if the Russian fighter melted down to 168. Bivol would rehydrate and still be too big for Canelo and would dominate him again like he did last year.
Sanchez feels that the welterweight Crawford is too small and lacks the power to hurt Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs), making it a mismatch.
Further, it would be a similar situation as Canelo’s last fight against the 154-pounder Jermell Charlo, where the fans won’t give the Mexican star credit for beating Crawford.
Abel says that if Crawford wants to fight Canelo, he should have Jermell at 154, and if he beats him and looks good, possibly he could take on the Mexican star next.
Of course. Crawford still wouldn’t have earned the fight against Canelo in the traditional sense by working his way up the 168-lb ladder. Beating Jermell means Crawford beat a guy two divisions below Canelo, who was coming off a loss.
Canelo gains nothing fighting Crawford
“I think you and I talked about that. I laughed about it before. I shouldn’t say laughed about it, but I scoffed at the idea of him even considering Crawford,” said Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV about Canelo Alvarez fighting Terence Crawford.
“He’s [Canelo] got nothing to gain by doing that. We’re going to have more detractors after that one. Crawford is a great fighter; Crawford looked great in his last fight.”
The downside of Canelo potentially agreeing to fight Crawford would be the fact that the contest would be a circus-level match and would make a joke out of the sport.
If Canelo is able to pick & choose his opponents from two or more weight classes below him to defend his 168-lb titles again, what happens to the contenders that have been waiting at super middleweight for their title shot? Is nothing sacred?
Crawford has been campaigning tirelessly nonstop like a politician, trying to build interest in a fight between him and Canelo at 168. Terence is trying to use his recent victory over Errol Spence Jr. as a catalyst to get the Canelo fight, as Crawford’s popularity has increased substantially.
“If Terence beats Vergil and Ennis like he did Spence, or in the fashion, Canelo beat Charlo, yeah, that’s a great fighter at that weight [147], but not at 168. I would hate to see that fight. I think Terence would be tarnishing what he built up,” said Sanchez.
“Finally, he’s getting recognition after the Spence fight because, really, he wasn’t getting that kind of worldwide recognition before the Spence fight that he deserved. He was winning, but he just wasn’t showcasing the product, and now he did. So now he’s on everybody’s mind.”
The notoriety that Crawford has built up recently with the best & only huge victory of his 15-year career against Spence would be washed away with a one-sided loss to Canelo.
“By getting beat?” said Sanchez when asked if Crawford fighting Canelo would be his best way to showcase his product. “He [Crawford] gets beat. So, in my opinion, that’s not a good fight.”
Bivol beats Canelo again
“Now, Canelo going up to fight Bivol again is a bad idea. He has nothing to gain,” said Sanchez when asked about his thoughts on Bivol coming down to 168 to face Canelo. “He has nothing to gain. The bigger guy is going to beat him again.”
Canelo would avenge his loss if he were to defeat Bivol at 175, but it seems clear from the excuses that he’s making about the demands from Dmitry, he doesn’t fancy the fight. Alvarez obviously knows he’s no match for Bivol, so it’s best not to poke the bear.
“To me, that’s an obvious. I think a lot of coaches who watch Bivol and watch Canelo, who fought against Charlo, would have to be totally different from Bivol. Why? Because he can’t open himself up like that against Bivol. If he opens himself up to Bivol, it would be the same fight as it was the first time.
“He was a different fighter in the Bivol fight than he was in the Charlo fight as far as exposing himself and throwing bombs. He didn’t do that against Bivol. I’m sure he didn’t do that against Bivol.
“Why did he [Canelo] tire? Why did Charlo tire? It was a bigger guy. It’s a different [fight]. Bivol really attacked; he really took it to Canelo. So, that’s a different fight than Bivol fought before. He risked more. Before, it was all safety first,” said Sanchez.
“So, no, I don’t think that’s a fight he needs to see. Now, the other three guys. I know Eddy is trying to maximize the legacy for Canelo and get that loss back from Bivol, but in my opinion, I will stay away from Bivol. Bivol needs Canelo, but Canelo doesn’t need him, as evidenced by this fight. This fight did very well at the gate. He doesn’t need Bivol,” said Sanchez.
Crawford can’t hurt Canelo
“In the Terence-Spence fight, he risked more. He went out to attack,” said Sanchez. “He went out to do his job, do his thing. The other guy [Spence] wasn’t well-prepared and had a problem with his weight. I don’t know what the issue was.
“Maybe it wasn’t the same Spence because he fought Crawford. If Bivol couldn’t knock Canelo out, if Golovkin couldn’t knock Canelo out, what are the punches coming from Crawford going to do to him? Nothing.”
Crawford doesn’t have the size or the power to brawl with Canelo, and it would be an ugly fight if he ran from the Mexican star for twelve rounds. Fans would be furious at paying for another boring contest after paying $85 for Canelo’s last mismatch against Jermell.
“The fight that I would like to see happen to see if he deserves a shot against Canelo would be Jermell & Crawford,” said Sanchez. “Let’s see how that fight plays out; for Crawford, it’s not a big risk like that Canelo fight, and yet, it’s a fight in which he could gauge how he does against Charlo and how Charlo did against Canelo.
“If Canelo couldn’t knock him out, Crawford’s not going to have a snowball’s chance in hell chance of knocking him [Jermell] out,” said Abel.
Jermell would last all twelve rounds against Crawford but ultimately lose, without Terence receiving credit.
“Do you think Spence looked like he’d looked in the past against Crawford? Just because he came out and tried to blow somebody out doesn’t mean he was in the best shape for that fight. He looked terrible,” said Sanchez.
“He looked terrible walking in. I wanted Spence to win. I said Spence was going to win. He may have gotten beat if he’d been the Spence that I’d seen in the past because Crawford looked like a million dollars.
“He may have got beat anyway, but not like he did. He got destroyed and got toyed with. I honestly think in the fifth round, Crawford held back kind of like he didn’t want to punish him; he didn’t want to hurt him. He was looking for the referee to say, ‘That’s it.’
“I hope in his next fight, he shines just like he did in the Spence fight, whether it’s against Spence or anybody else. Moving up to fight Canelo would be a dumb idea for him. Yes, it’s a big money fight for both guys, but Crawford’s got 100% to gain, and Canelo’s got 0% to gain,” said Sanchez.
