Sanchez Backs Canelo To Beat Crawford, Zhang’s Trainer Picks Him To KO Wilder

In some recent boxing news, Abel Sanchez has backed Canelo Alvarez to be too strong for Terence Crawford. 

The talks for a fight between the pair emerged when Crawford indicated his desire to fight the Mexican by jumping up three weight classes. Bud’s intentions of becoming undisputed in a third weight class were clear.

In response, Canelo admitted that he would not get credit for the win, given the huge difference in weight. And yet, the Mexican was open to the fight provided that it made sense for both sides.

And if the fight were to go ahead, Sanchez backed Alvarez. The trainer’s comments were based on the fact that putting on 21 pounds would simply be too much to carry. This is despite the fact that Bud has spoken about his walking around weight being higher than 147. 

Sanchez On Canelo-Crawford

“Crawford looked like a million dollars against Errol but that can’t happen. t shouldn’t happen. If it’s a money grab then that’s ok but as far as moving up three weight divisions, that shouldn’t happen. I don’t think it would be competitive. It would be a fight that would be dominated by Canelo,” Sanchez

Nevertheless, those were the same sentiments that were being expressed when Crawford faced Errol Spence Jr. The narrative heading into the bout was that Spence’s size and power would prove too much for Crawford.

However, those claims were dispelled when Bud managed to push Spence off during a clinch in the second round. This was then followed by three knockdowns against Spence before the fight was stopped. 

Zhang Would KO Wilder

Meanwhile, Zhilei Zhang’s trainer, Shaun George has backed his fighter to knock out Deontay Wilder if the pair did face each other. 

Zhang’s career has had a resurgence of late, following his back-to-back wins over Joe Joyce. The Brit stopped the Chinese in the sixth round and then in even quicker fashion with a third-round stoppage in the rematch.

The win maintained Zhang’s WBO heavyweight interim belt, which places him as a mandatory for Oleksandr Usyk. Although that may be the case, the latter has signed to face Tyson Fury for the undisputed championship.

Therefore, Zhang’s shot at the title may be delayed. However, a fight against Wilder could present itself. The Bronze Bomber has not fought in around a year since he stopped Robert Helenius in the first round.

Meanwhile, a WBC title eliminator with Andy Ruiz Jr. failed as both sides could not agree on purse splits. Wilder stuck to a 70-30 offer, which was rejected by Ruiz who demanded an equal split.

But a fight against Zhang could put Wilder in line for a world title if he came out victorious. And yet, George backed the Chinese to come out on top in any battle. 

“I respect Wilder as a fighter and I respect him as a person. Me and Malik Scott [Wilder’s trainer] go back a lotta years, to when we were 17, 18 years old. But it’s a fun fight. I believe Zhilei would win that fight by knockout, also. Skills pay the bills in that fight. You know, so it’s worth the risk if you’re talking about Deontay Wilder. If you say, ‘What does Zhilei bring to the table?’ We bring a mandatory [spot]. So, it’s worth it. It has a lotta value,” George