Crawford’s Postol performance: A glimpse into Canelo’s downfall?

Trainer Stephen Edwards believes Terence Crawford has enough size, power, conditioning and technical ability to move up to 168 and defeat unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.

Edwards thinks Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) couldn’t beat David Benavidez, David Morrell, Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol. Those guys are too big and too technical for the 37-year-old Crawford. But the 34-year-old Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is starting to show signs of age, and is beatable for Crawford.

Vulnerable champion

Canelo will turn 35 on July 18 and has failed to knock out his last six opponents. His last knockout occurred three years ago against Caleb Plant on November 6, 2021.

The Mexican star has not indicated he will face Crawford and will not accept the bout unless he feels he can win. His net worth is estimated at $250 million. So whatever money Turki Alalshikh might offer Alvarez wouldn’t entice him to fight Crawford unless he wanted to. He already has enough money to live rich for 20 lifetimes, and can continue to earn many millions per fight, facing easy opposition.

“Yeah, I think he can go up to 168 and fight certain people. Do I think he can fight Benavidez or Morrell? No, they are too big, too skilled and too tall. It would be a lot to overcome,” Stephen Edwards told Fighthype, speaking about Terence Crawford being too small to fight Benavidez or Morrell at super middleweight.

“Canelo comes from the smaller weights and is the same height as Crawford. I actually think Crawford is a little taller. Crawford’s arms are much longer and he has a much better gas tank. I’ve never seen Crawford tired.

“Canelo lets guys off the hook nowadays that when he was on his best run, he would normally stop them. Now he’s letting them off the hook because he doesn’t have that extra boost in his tank. If Bud fought Canelo at 168, Bud would be full of calories. He could have eaten whatever he wanted at any time of the day,” Edwards said.

Crawford is also getting pretty old, at 37, and nearly lost his debut at 154 to Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3. He won’t be able to win the round against Canelo with the weak shots he landed against Madrimov. Those punches looked weak compared to when he fought at 147, 140 and 135.

The judges will give Canelo the round against Crawford, even if he is trained. If Canelo’s shots are much harder, he will win the round. Crawford doesn’t hit as hard as Jermell Charlo or Erislandy Lara, and those guys were overpowered in terms of power against Canelo.

Genius at work?

“His energy levels would be off the hook. He will probably enter the ring weighing 159 or 160 pounds. You don’t need to get to 168 just because that’s the weight limit. He needs to be quick in that fight,” Edwards said about Crawford.

“I told him [Crawford]’That fight you fought that night [against Viktor Postol at 140, eight years ago on July 23, 2016]this is the fight that could beat Canelo.’ He sort of smiled. I think Bud is a genius, and sometimes when you’re a genius, you don’t know you’re a genius. He has the ability to make changes during fights.

The fight against Viktor Postol dates back a long time, when Crawford was 28 years old. He is now 37 and no longer looks as young, fast or mobile as he did in the Postol fight. Crawford has aged. So, comparing this version of Crawford to the one Postol fought to use as an argument as to why he will beat Canelo makes no sense. That version of Crawford no longer exists.

That was another person. If he were a monster boxer like Artur Beterbiev, it wouldn’t be a big deal that Crawford isn’t as young as he once was. He is not a great boxer and wins his fights with speed, reflexes and boxing skills. In his current physical state, this won’t be enough to beat Canelo, and the judges won’t be doing him any favors.

“I don’t think he can beat guys like Bivol and Beterbiev. I think it’s too much, but Canelo,” Edwards said. “He’s a great fighter, but my eyes tell me he’s slowing down a little bit. The Canelo who fought Berlanga. Three years ago Canelo would have knocked out Berlanga. It’s not a fight. That’s a public execution.

“The fact that we let Berlanga go far. He let Munguia go the distance. He let Charlo go the distance. Bud’s Movement, Conditioning and Strength. Bud is a lot stronger than people realize. I’m not saying he’s stronger than Canelo. It’s quite strong. It’s not a weightlifting competition,” Edwards said.