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Dmitry Bivol, Israil Madrimov Coach Joel Diaz: No Way Crawford Beats Canelo
Ring Magazine
ARTICLE
Manouk Akopyan
Manouk Akopyan
RingMagazine.com
Dmitry Bivol, Israil Madrimov Coach Joel Diaz: No Way Crawford Beats Canelo
Trainer Joel Diaz is incredibly familiar with the headliners of the Sept. 13 superfight featuring Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford.

Diaz coached Dmitry Bivol in 2022 when the Russian handed Alvarez just the second defeat of his Hall of Fame-bound career. The Indio, California-based coach also cornered Israil Madrimov when the Uzbek dropped a competitive decision to Crawford last summer.

Diaz believes it’s undebatable who’ll win when the undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) defends his titles against Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Netflix.

“Canelo should win. I see Canelo beating Crawford by a convincing decision. There is no way Crawford beats Canelo,” Diaz told The Ring.

“Canelo is the king of the sport, and business-wise, Canelo can't lose. If Canelo loses, boxing loses a lot of prestige. But don't get me wrong, Crawford is one of my favorite fighters and pound-for-pound the best of this era."


“The fight will be interesting and back and forth for the first four rounds. Canelo has been hit by heavy hitters and never even flinched. As soon as Canelo feels that Crawford doesn't have what it takes to hurt him, Canelo is going to walk him down.

“Crawford will make it a fight and fight back, but he's a smart fighter and will play it safe once he's hurt - that's when Canelo will take over. Crawford is not going to be exchanging punches with Canelo in the middle of the ring. We've seen Crawford get buckled before, and believe me, Canelo hits harder than Yuriorkis Gamboa and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.”

Alvarez hasn’t scored a knockout in seven fights spanning the last four years, but has dropped several opponents along the way.

The major storyline around the fight is if the smaller Crawford can handle Alvarez’s power. The four-division champion and two-time undisputed king Crawford only fought once as a 154-pounder, and his 11-fight knockout streak ended when he faced Madrimov in a nip-and-tuck affair. Crawford outlanded Madrimov 95 to 84 and threw 158 more punches, according to CompuBox.


“Madrimov was looking for the fight,” said Diaz. “Crawford was on the defensive. I only saw him win two rounds convincingly. Madrimov was landing the better shots. If Madrimov gave Crawford the fight of his life at 154 pounds, what do you expect Canelo to do? Let's put it this way: Madrimov is a smaller version of Canelo, but Canelo has vicious power, and he's going to unload when he discovers he can't be hurt. That's what a Mexican fighter does.”

Diaz envisions Alvarez getting the win and chasing a sequel against The Ring, WBA, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight champion Bivol in 2026.

“The rematch with Bivol would be great,” said Diaz. “You need the right fighters against Canelo for people to be happy. But at the end of the day, people will be watching no matter who Canelo fights.”

Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.
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