Terence Crawford appears to have put on some size in his latest training photo, making some fans believe that he could be heading to 168 for a potential fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on May 4th.
Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) needs an opponent that will sell on Amazon Prime PPV, and Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) would serve the purpose. More importantly, the Nebraska native is American, and that’s what Canelo said he wanted for his next fight on Cinco de Mayo.
The way Crawford is looking bulked up suggests that he’s focusing on fighting well above his old weight class of 147, and that sends a signal to some that he could be preparing for Canelo.
Canelo Needs a Cinco de Mayo PPV Draw
The only issue is that Canelo recently ruled out fighting the 36-year-old Crawford, seeing it as a no-win fight due to him competing three weight classes below at 147, and having no experience competing at 168.
Unless Canelo changes his mind about not wanting to fight a Mexican fighter, Crawford is his best option for May 4th. At least the fight will bring in PPV buys on Amazon Prime.
However, PBC would be getting Canelo cheap at only $35 million guaranteed for a fight of this magnitude. It should be more than that if Canelo is fighting Crawford, perhaps even double.
Size Disparity a Major Hurdle
The problem with Canelo-Crawford taking place is the size difference. Although Crawford looks like he’s packed on additional weight, he still looks skinny for a super middleweight. He would be giving away a lot of natural size and power to the stockier, more powerful Mexican star.
Crawford would be moving up to 168 with zero experience in the weight class, and that’s a bad thing for him. You can’t count Crawford’s recent win over the car crash-wrecked, weight-drained Errol Spence as experience in preparing him for Canelo. Spence isn’t a super middleweight, and he’s a shell of the fighter he once was many years ago.
If Crawford had more time, he would move up to 168 and quickly get a couple of fights under his belt against David Morrell and Caleb Plant before moving on to a clash against Canelo.
Unfortunately, there’s no time for Crawford to fight either of them and even if he did, he’d likely be destroyed, especially against Morrell.
Terence Crawford in training today… pic.twitter.com/eEyckd7DQQ
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 23, 2024