Notebook: Being underestimated vs. Canelo? Crawford doesn't care
What's with Crawford's shoulder?; Ennis on sparring Canelo; Benavidez questions shadow Canelo; Mbilli embraces spotlight; weigh-in results; BetUS boxing show special edition; Quick hits; Show & tell
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LAS VEGAS — Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the showdown between undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez and fellow future Hall of Famer and four-division champion Terence Crawford is Crawford’s dramatic move up in weight for the fight he campaigned hard to get and more or less willed into being.
Crawford won his first world title at lightweight, became the undisputed champion at both junior welterweight and welterweight, and then won a title at junior middleweight by close decision in his last fight against Israil Madrimov 13 months ago.
Now he is moving up two more weight classes, from 154 pounds to 168, to challenge Alvarez for the title in the main event of the Zuffa Boxing card backed by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh on Saturday (Netflix, 9 p.m. ET) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It is one of the biggest fights in boxing in years.
There was speculation about whether Crawford would go all the way up to the limit or perhaps come in a few pounds lighter in an effort to try to retain his speed. In the end, he opted be close to the limit and when he and Alvarez have faced off there is no noticeable difference in their size.
In fact, he and Alvarez both weighed in on Friday morning at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas at the same weight — 167.5 pounds — before showing themselves to the public on Friday evening at the T-Mobile Arena for the ceremonial weigh-in.
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Alvarez, who has won titles from junior middleweight to light heavyweight, was around the same weight he has always been since first fighting as a super middleweight in 2018. Crawford was by far his heaviest, having never been more than the 153.5 he was for Madrimov.
That big weight jump is the key reason Crawford is the underdog, although the odds have tightened considerably.
Asked this week about being underestimate because of the weight situation, Crawford brushed it off.
“I think people is underestimating everything about me, but that doesn’t matter,” Crawford said. “We got a fight here Saturday and all the (questions) will be answered that night.”
Although Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), 37, knows there will be a solid contingent of fans from his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, on hand, Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs), 35, of Mexico, will be the massive crowd favorite.
“Of course, it’s gonna be a pro Canelo crowd. It’s Mexican Independence Day (weekend),” Crawford said. “He’s done great things and great numbers and Las Vegas is like his second home, so I’m looking forward to being the underdog. I’m already prepared for that. It’s cool.”
Should Crawford win he will add considerably to his historic accomplishments by becoming a five-division champion; the first male three-division undisputed champion of the multi-belt era (be it two, three or four belts); the first male fighter to be an undisputed champion in three weight classes since the legendary Henry Armstrong simultaneously held the world title in three divisions (featherweight, lightweight, welterweight) in 1938 when there was only one champion per weight class; and he would join Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao as the third four-division lineal champion.
He knows all of that and admits to thinking about what is at stake for him.
“I definitely think about it but I’m keeping myself focused on the job at hand because I don’t want to eat before my food is ready,” he said.
Win, lose or draw, Crawford has already achieved far more than many thought he would and he is proud of that.
“I’ve been told I’d never be where I’m at. I was told I needed to get another job because I wasn’t going to be world champion. So, many things that I’ve been told in my life,” Crawford said. “I was like, ‘OK, just watch me do it.’ And with my self belief I don’t care what nobody else say because I’m comfortable in my own skin.
“I’m gonna be victorious and everybody will be talking about it on Sunday.”
Crawford’s shoulder
Before any big fight there are always rumors, rumors, rumors — typically about a fighter’s weight, sparring gossip and, of course, supposed injuries.
It’s been no different with regard to Crawford, who if the social media rumors are to be believed (not a good idea), he is dealing with a shoulder injury. There is, however, no evidence. The chatter was so strong that Crawford addressed it this week.
“My shoulder is messed up, everyone. But don’t tell Canelo,” Crawford said, clearly speaking sarcastically, when asked about it.
“It may be the right shoulder or the left shoulder but it's probably both of them. I’m having problems with my shoulders. Shhh! Keep that under wraps.”
Crawford at one point, humorously, raised his arms up and moved them around freely, and asked nobody in particular if it looked like he had a shoulder injury.
View from Ennis
It was the talk of boxing a couple of weeks ago when Alvarez and Jaron “Boots” Ennis posted a photo on their social media outlets of them training together at Alvarez’s camp near Lake Tahoe in Stateline, Nevada, where they sparred.
Alvarez, of course, was preparing for Crawford. Ennis, who vacated his unified welterweight title, is moving up to make his junior middleweight debut against Uisma Lima on Nov. 11 (DAZN) in Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia.
As much as Alvarez praised Ennis (34-0 30 KOs) for the work he got, Ennis also believes it was very valuable for him as well.
“Canelo and my brother (Farah Ennis) go way back,” Ennis said of his older sibling and a former pro fighter, who used to train with Alvarez. “He did two training camps with him, and they are real good friends. We were just talking like it’s a regular day; that’s it.
“It was fun sparring with him. I was picking his brain, seeing what he’s got, and getting in shape for my own fight as well. He’s had almost 70 fights, turned pro at 15, so I was picking his brain, having fun, and sharpening my own tools.”
Benavidez’s shadow
While Alvarez’s fight with Crawford is undoubtedly a mega event so too would have been a fight with David Benavidez, the two-time super middleweight titleholder, who relentlessly called out Alvarez to no avail.
It was so frustrating to Benavidez and his team that even as the WBC No. 1 contender and interim titlist he could not get the organization to order the fight, so he moved up to light heavyweight, where he won the interim belt and was eventually elevated when Dmitry Bivol vacated.
Still, whenever Alvarez fights, Benavidez’s name always seem to come up and it was no different at Thursday’s Alvarez-Crawford news conference.
Alvarez was asked if he would consider facing Benavidez in the future and said, sure, he might consider it but for now it’s all about Crawford.
“Look, I never say no to anything,” Alvarez said. “We’ll see later. But I’m focused a hundred percent on this fight (against Crawford).”
Phoenix native Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), meantime, is scheduled to make his first defense of the full title against England’s Anthony Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) in the main event of “The Ring IV” card on Nov. 22 (DAZN) at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Mbilli’s ‘chance to shine’
WBC interim super middleweight titlist Christian Mbilli will make his first defense against rising contender Lester Martinez on the Canelo-Crawford card hoping he can win in style and make an impression big enough that fans will clamor to see him challenge the main event winner for the undisputed crown.
“This is my chance to shine,” Mbilli said this week. “I believe I was born for this kind of opportunity, and I don’t intend to miss it on Saturday night. I believe I’m on this card for a reason: His Excellency Turki Alalshikh (who is backing the card) knows that I’m always spectacular, and with an explosive performance, I intend to steal the show and send an indelible message to Canelo and Crawford — that I’m ready to face them anywhere, anytime, and at any place.”
Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs), 30, a 2016 French Olympian fighting out of Montreal, has scored his two biggest wins in his past two bouts, a lopsided 10-round decision over former title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko last August followed by a stunning first-round knockout of former title challenger Maciej Sulecki to win the vacant interim belt on June 27.
Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs), 29, of Guatemala, shares trainer Brian McIntyre with Crawford and is coming off a third-round knockout of Joeshon James in March.
The weigh-in
Weights from Las Vegas for the Zuffa Boxing card on Saturday (Netflix, 9 p.m. ET): Canelo Alvarez 167.5 pounds, Terence Crawford 167 (for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight title); Callum Walsh 153.5; Fernando Vargas Jr. 153; Christian Mbilli 167, Lester Martinez 167 (for Mbilli’s WBC interim super middleweight title); Mohammed Alakel 132, Travis Crawford 132.5; Serhii Bohachuk 155, Brandon Adams 156; Ivan Dychko 239.5, Jermaine Franklin 256; Reito Tsutsumi 129.5, Javier Martinez 129.5; Sultan Almohamed 132.5, Martin Caraballo 133; Steven Nelson 171.5, Raiko Santana 171.5; Marco Verde 158, Sona Akale 159.5.
Canelo-Crawford lineup
(Saturday, 9 p.m. ET at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, globally on Netflix):
Super middleweights: Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) vs. Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), 12 rounds, for Alvarez’s undisputed title
Junior middleweights: Callum Walsh (14-0, 11 KOs) vs. Fernando Vargas Jr. (17-0, 15 KOs), 10 rounds
Super middleweights: Christian Mbilli (29-0, 24 KOs) vs. Lester Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs), 10 rounds, for Mbilli’s WBC interim title
Lightweights: Mohammed Alakel (5-0, 1 KOs) vs. Travis Kent Crawford (7-4, 2 KOs), 10 rounds
BetUS Boxing Show
We were back for a special one-off BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, mainly about the mega fight: Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford. If you missed it live, please check out the replay on the YouTube channel. We previewed and picked Canelo-Crawford, the Callum Wash-Fernando Vargas Jr. co-feature and the Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan rematch for the vacant IBF welterweight title on Saturday in Belfast, Northern Ireland. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:
Quick hits
Weights from Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday (DAZN, 2 p.m. ET): Lewis Crocker 146.6 pounds, Paddy Donovan 145,7 (rematch, for vacant IBF welterweight title); Ishamel Davis 153.5, Caoimhin Agyarko 153.3; Tyrone McKenna 149.5, Dylan Moran 149.8; Pat Brown 204.8, Austine Nnamdi 197.6; Molly McCann 121.3, Kate Radomska 118; Ruadhan Farrell 122, Matthew Boreland 121.7; Donagh Keary 125.3, Caine Singh 125.3; Aaron Bowen 163.2, Carlos Ronner 162.2; Kyle Smith 157, Connor Meanwell 155,5; Jim Donovan 159.5, Lukasz Barabasz 163.
Weights from Nagoya, Japan, for the Ohashi Promotions card on Sunday (Top Rank Facebook in the U.S. and U.K., 4 a.m. ET, main event at approximately 6:40 a.m. ET): Naoya Inoue 121.7 pounds, Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121.3 (for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight title); Yoshiki Takei 118, Christian Medina 117.7 (for Takei’s WBO bantamweight title); Yuni Takada 104.7, Ryusei Matsumoto 104.7 (for vacant WBA “regular” strawweight title).
Heavyweight Efe Ajagba (20-1-1, 14 KOs) this week withdrew from facing Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) in a rematch to determine the organization’s mandatory challenger. Ajagba declined to accept the terms by the deadline of promoter Sampson Lewkowicz’s winning purse bid of $320,000 last month to secure the rights for PBC over Ajagba promoter Top Rank’s bid of $210,000. Ajagba was unhappy with the results, a 60-40 split in his favor but a purse of just $181,200 to Sanchez’s $120,800 (thought he would have gotten more because his contract minimum with PBC is more). Sanchez handed Ajagba his only loss, a decision in October 2021, in a dreadful fight, leaving little interest in anyone bidding big for a rematch. The IBF will now go down its rankings to find an available contender willing to participate in negotiations. Ajagba will be dropped from the IBF rankings for six months.
Show and tell
For many years whenever there was a big fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas the fight artwork would adorn the credit card-like room keys. I have collected tons of them from fights I have covered there. I probably have room keys from around 40 fights. But they stopped doing that years ago. The fight hotel for Saturday’s Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight is the Fontainebleau Las Vegas and it was a beautiful thing to see the fight adorn room keys when I arrived on Wednesday. Here is my room key, which will be added to my collection.
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Photos: Canelo-Crawford, Crawford, Mbilli: Zuffa Boxing; Canelo/Ennis: Canelo social media; Crocker-Donovan 2: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing; Inoue-Akhmadaliev: Naoki Fukuda
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Thank you for posting the key card - that’s s great piece of memorabilia! That’s one I’d keep forever. Kind of like my ticket to the closed circuit fight between Hagler and Hearns. Somebody screamed out before the fight, “ain’t no gas stations Tommy!”
Canelo has the clearly better power, defense, and chin. I think Bud figured out that he was washed versus Madrimov. That's the real reason Bud rushed into this Canelo Payday Cashout. I don't think he'll take the money and run, like Jermell or Scull. But I do expect Bud to start fast. It's his only real chance. And I also expect BoMac to quickly throw the towel. Before Bud catches a beatdown. And they smile to the themselves about their huge payday afterwards.