Brian Mendoza Jr. knows all too well about size disadvantages.

The junior middleweight contender scored one of the biggest upsets of 2023 by overcoming a near eight-inch height disadvantage to blast “The Towering Inferno” Sebastian Fundora.

The stunning knockout win has aged incredibly well for Mendoza, despite losing to Tim Tszyu several months later.

Fundora has since gone on to dominate Tszyu twice, as well as Chordale Booker, and is the current WBC 154-pound champion preparing to defend his title against Keith Thurman in October.

WBA junior middleweight champion Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is looking to make a statement as well and prove that size doesn’t matter when he steps up two weight classes to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) on Sept. 13 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Netflix.

“La Bala” Mendoza (23-4, 17 KOs) believes the fight will be close, albeit a tall task and one too many hills to climb for the four-division champion from Nebraska.

“I think it's too much weight for Crawford to be putting on because he's already coming up from even lower weight classes as a lightweight,” Mendoza told The Ring.

“You have to respect the power of the bigger man. I've sparred heavyweights, so I know what it feels like. Crawford will be big and carry power, but it's different once it's fight night under the lights when it matters. But Crawford is so good that I could definitely still see him do something to Canelo. Especially since Canelo has not looked too good in his last few fights. He looked flat-footed against William Scull.

“It's going to be an interesting fight, but I believe the weight is going to play a factor, even though I think Crawford is the better fighter. And Crawford has been cracked by guys like Egidijus Kavaliauskas. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out, but I am leaning toward Canelo. He's going to rise to the occasion and it's going to make a difference once he starts landing those big looping and heavy shots.”