Shakur Stevenson: Crawford Will Destroy Canelo!

Shakur Stevenson expects Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez.
Reports indicate the pair will meet in September in Las Vegas. Both fighters are expected to have one more fight before this clash takes place. Crawford is the WBA Junior Middleweight Champion after having beaten Israil Madrimov in his first fight at the weight class. Eddie Hearn hit out at the scorecards, which had Crawford winning by unanimous decision. Some felt the cards were too wide, whilst others even had Madrimov shading it. Crawford was not able to stop his opponent like he had done to all of his at 147 pounds, including Errol Spence Jr., in the fight before.
Crawford would have to jump up two weight classes to fight Canelo at 168 pounds unless a catchweight can be made. Alvarez has previously said that any fight must happen at super middleweight. Jermell Charlo jumped up two weight classes in 2023 to take on Canelo. He lost a one-sided unanimous decision, getting dropped in the process. The additional weight proved crucial, as Charlo failed to have any pop on his punches. Meanwhile, his speed was not what it used to be.
Crawford is also 37 years old, meaning that he is in the latter part of his career. He is older than Canelo, who is 34. But Alvarez has been in over 60 fights, while Crawford has been in 41, meaning that the Mexican has more miles on the clock. But there is a danger that Crawford could end up hurting himself as weight classes exist for a reason.
Shakur Reacts
Kell Brook found this out when he jumped up two weight classes to take on GGG. He suffered a broken eye socket as the former IBF Welterweight Champion was no longer the same fighter. Crawford is likely to secure a career-high payday, eclipsing the $25 million he earned for the Spence fight. But in doing so, is it a risk worth taking? Shakur felt that Crawford would beat Canelo as he backed his man.
“I’ve been saying this for years now. I’m probably the first one that been saying this, even before Terence is saying this. I always thought that his [Crawford] style vs. Canelo, I think he beats Canelo. I’m not saying it’ll be an easy fight, but he can make it a very easy fight. I ran into Terence in Dubai, and he’s really thicker. He’s thickened out recently. He’s 38. He has thickened out. That’s another thing too. I don’t think Canelo is walking through his punches. Terence can punch, and that goes for any weight class,” Shakur said
But reporter Chris Mannix recognized that this was a massive risk on Crawford’s part. He felt the weight and inactivity could have an impact.
“It would be a little over a year [13 months]. You got to be very careful if you’re going to take a fight above 160 lbs, because it’s a new weight range,” Mannix stated
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