It’s been a Hall of Fame career for the pound-for-pound star but he isn’t interested in taking punishment for much longer. In what could be the final year of his career, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has an agreement in place for a showdown with Ring, WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion, Canelo Alvarez.
Alvarez initially showed no interest in fighting Crawford but recently changed his mind. On Thursday, The Ring broke the news that Alvarez officially inked a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season. Three of his opponents in said deal remain shrouded in mystery but Crawford will get his shot this coming September in Las Vegas.
Now, it’s all about hitting the weight room and bulking up. Crawford will have to move up two weight classes to the super middleweight division. But while he’s never fought above 154 pounds just yet, he isn’t unnerved about his first trip to a new weight class.
Alvarez is as strong as a bull. He hasn’t stopped an opponent in the last few years but John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Jaime Munguia, and Edgar Berlanga all took a standing eight count.
Crawford packs a punch in his own right but ostensibly, his punching power won’t fully translate to 168 pounds. Ultimately, if fights were all about who hits the hardest, Crawford would be in trouble. But, the future Hall of Famer knows that skills pay the bills.
In addition to that, Alvarez isn’t your typical super middleweight. He isn’t physically imposing like a Berlanga or William Scull. As he takes a look at their body composition, Crawford notices that both he and Alvarez share a few similarities.
“He’s a heavy dude but he’s not a big guy," said Crawford to a group of reporters. "He’s 5’8’’ I’m 5’8’’ and my arms are longer than his.”