‘He could tarnish his legacy’ – Terence Crawford warned Canelo Alvarez fight could be step too far after date planned
Renowned boxing trainer Andre Rozier is concerned about Turki Alalshikh’s plans to make Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez.
The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority recently revealed to ESPN that he is planning to stage the super fight in either December or January over in the United States.
“I’m working to deliver [Canelo] but it will be a big fight [for Crawford],” Alalshikh said. “I’ll discuss with him the names. “
Crawford, who has won world titles at lightweight, super lightweight and welterweight – earning undisputed status in the later two – is moving up to super-welterweight for his next outing against WBA champion Israil Madrimov on August 3 in Los Angeles.
Although he is edging closer to super-middleweight, where Canelo is the reigning undisputed champion, ‘Bud’ is still two weight classes below the former pound-for-pound king.
Rozier, trainer to former world champions Demetrius Andrade and Daniel Jacobs, is worried that the gap in size will be too great for Crawford to bridge.
“I don’t like it. Canelo hasn’t been rattled by anybody, and he’s been in with some big punchers. I don’t like that fight for Crawford,” Rozier told Fight Hype.
“I like him at 154, and maybe touching ground at 160. But at 168, I don’t like it.
“He’s going to box well because he’s a fantastic athlete and a fantastic boxer, but I don’t want to see TC going into that deep waters like that.
“If it’s about money, it’s a different story, but his legacy is being lamented in a fantastic way, and I’d hate to see it tarnished by trying to do too much.
“I think he’s already there. He’s going to the Hall of Fame. His accolades have mountain-high stats to them.
“I don’t want to see him get into a situation where [he could get beat]. He has to build up to it. I just can’t see it.”
Alalshikh did not disclose the weight he is planning to have Canelo and Crawford fight each other at, however, it is unlikely the Mexican superstar will drop down.
Canelo started his career at welterweight but has only fought at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight over the last five years.
“These things didn’t happen before. Once in a blue moon, but now, it’s modus operandi,” said Rozier about the recent trend for fighters to move up two to three weight classes.
“Now, it’s like, ‘I’m fighting at 140. I’m going to be fighting at cruiserweight in a year.’ It’s ridiculous.
“There’s a common phrase and it holds true. There’s a reason why there’s weight classes.”
