A proposed fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford has been mentioned for over 12 months now but Crawford instead faced Israil Madrimov at the weekend in a bid for quadruple champion status and the WBA super-welterweight title – where he was successful. After witnessing the display from his pound-for-pound rival, Canelo offered his opinion on the American’s performance.
In his closest encounter to date, ‘Bud’ got the nod over the Uzbek with a razor-thin unanimous-decision victory in a highly technical affair that appeared dull to the untrained eye but has been appreciated by avid fans of the sport.
That win saw Crawford become boxing’s 24th four-weight world champion and extending his undefeated record to 41-0, although it still may have hampered his claims to the pound-for-pound throne rather than supported it.
Nevertheless, the question of whether Canelo Alvarez was to be next arose immediately after Crawford’s hand was raised and ‘Bud’ refused to shut the idea down. However, before talks can truly commence, Canelo Alvarez must first defend his belts against New York’s Edgar Berlanga after the pair agreed to a deal to meet on September 14th.
“He [Madrimov] wasn’t throwing wild shots like I was wanting him to do. I figured it out from the get-go, but I was being patient. I didn’t wanna rush in with anything; that’s how I got caught a couple of times, trying to eat too soon.
“If the money’s right, we [me and Canelo] got a fight, but at the same time, he’s got a fight that he’s focused on. I’m going to relax, enjoy this win.”
Speaking with Dan Canobbio, the Mexican critiqued Crawford’s 154lb debut and shared his belief that he thought Madrimov did enough to retain his title and also taught Crawford a lesson that could see him steer clear of a move up to the super-middleweight division.
“For me, I think that he lost the fight or [it was a] draw, or it could be the other side. He knows why weight-classes are there [now].”
“Yeah, [he has been mentioning my name a lot lately] because he wanted to sell the [Madrimov] fight. If they don’t talk about me, they don’t sell anything.
“If the money is right. I don’t like fighters who move around the weight-classes.”
Although, despite inevitable interest in a clash between Canelo and Crawford, the man who can make the bout happen appears to have had a change of heart after seeing Crawford’s relative struggle with Madrimov. Instead, super-welterweight knockout artist Vergil Ortiz Jr. seems to be next in line for Crawford if Turki Al-Alshikh has his way.
Ortiz Jr. hopes to continue his run of 21 knockout wins in 21 professional contests when he fights Serhii Bohachuk for the WBC interim super-welterweight title on Saturday night.
Should Ortiz Jr. lose against the Ukrainian contender, or Crawford decline the proposal to face him, there remains a plethora of alternative options for the Omaha-born future Hall-of-Famer.
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