Usyk Backs Crawford To Beat Canelo – ‘Terence My Friend Is A Crazy Man’
Oleksandr Usyk has backed Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez.
Reports indicate that the Saudis want to make Crawford vs. Canelo at the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Bud is preparing to face Israil Madrimov in his first fight at 154 pounds. A victory makes him a four-division champion as he will pick up Madrimov’s WBA title. That takes Crawford closer to becoming undisputed, having done so at 140 and 147.
A fight with Canelo has raised serious questions over whether the weight gap will be too much. Crawford would be coming up from 154 pounds to 168 for Alvarez’s Undisputed Super Middleweight Title. Charlo did something similar when the former undisputed champion rose from 154 pounds.
During the fight, it was clear that Charlo no longer had the same speed, nor were his punches having the same impact. He was dropped in a one-sided fight. While he made it to the final bell, it was not a competitive fight. And yet, Usyk showed in his fight with Tyson Fury that size does not matter. In the build-up, he claimed that if size matters, then the elephant would be the king of the jungle.
Usyk’s Achievement
“Size doesn’t matter. If it did then the king of animals would be the elephant. I am a heavyweight,” Usyk said
“When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, usually they get found wanting… you can beat the average big ones but you can’t beat the elite big ones because size really matters. We have weight divisions for a reason and he’s going to be found wanting when he fights me on May 18. If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, Tyson’s no good, end of. I’m not going to pull any punches, it is what it is.” He added: “This is my time, my destiny, my era and my generation. Fact,” Fury stated
During the Fury fight, Usyk was around 40 pounds lighter. He also had a seven-inch reach disadvantage. And yet, as the fight began, Usyk was dominating. The Ukrainian almost stopped Fury in round nine, only for the referee to give the Gypsy King a standing eight count. Based on what he had seen, Usyk felt Crawford’s skills would be too much.
Usyk On Crawford
“Terence is my friend, but he’s a crazy man. I say Terence wins. Listen, Terence is a different man. Terence works in two stances; he’s a very, very, very smart man,” Usyk said
Alvarez had interestingly picked Fury to beat Usyk. The Mexican knew that size does not always matter when he boxed Floyd Mayweather. Canelo came in much heavier than the 152-pound catchweight after rehydrating. And yet, Mayweather dominated the fight as he could pick off his opponent at will. The key point will be whether Crawford can get Canelo to respect his power. Otherwise, he will face a tall order to prevent the Mexican from walking him down. However, based on his Fury prediction, Crawford could pose problems to him.
“It’s gonna be a good fight, but I think Fury is gonna win because he has everything. “He has boxing skills and he has the weight, so it’s gonna be different,” Canelo stated
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