Will Crawford’s Style Be Enough To Win At 168?

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. says Terence Crawford will find it hard going up to 168 for the first time to challenge Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight championship on September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

“It might be hard for Crawford because it’s going to be his first time fighting at 168. We don’t know how he’s going to move. We don’t know if he’s going to be that fast. I don’t know if he’s going to be able to handle the pressure because Canelo is really good at pressuring,” said Andy Ruiz Jr. to Little Giant Boxing.

“Canelo is good at slipping and countering. Anything can happen, especially in this sport of boxing. It’s crazy because Canelo can win by a knockout. Crawford can win by moving around and making the fight a little difficult for Canelo,” said Ruiz Jr.

This is too big a fight for Crawford to be given the nod by the judges if he just moves around all night, “making the fight difficult” for Canelo. The competitive spirit that the Omaha, Nebraska native Bud Crawford must be there on September 13th to defeat Canelo.

In Crawford’s last fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd last year, he turned the tables on him, attacking and out-slugging him in the second half of the fight. Crawford should follow the same blueprint against Canelo.

“I think the pressure and the countering that he does,” said Ruiz, about what makes Canelo difficult. “He’s really slick inside that ring.”

Canelo puts himself in a position to land one or two big shots, which is often all he needs to win the rounds. Crawford will need to stand his ground and fight, and match Canelo with power shots. If Canelo is the only one punching with power, he’ll win an easy decision like in his battle against former undisputed 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo.