Those could be signs of Alvarez slipping.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cCrawford does have a great chance, because of Canelo\u2019s past few performances, not really pushing himself like he used to,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cCanelo has been in so many training camps, so many sparring sessions, and that can slow you down. If I were ‘BoMac,’ I would plan for Crawford to fight smartly, fight fast, use his speed, reflexes and his footwork. He cannot afford to stay in front of Canelo. He needs to turn Canelo. But he needs a perfect 12-round fight to pull it off.<\/p>\n
“If I were Eddy, I would have Canelo be aggressive, fight on the inside and throw punches in combination, because lately he has been throwing one power punch at a time. I still believe in Canelo. If I were to put money down, I would bet Canelo, though Crawford has a great chance of pulling it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shields, who trains ageless WBO middleweight champion Erislandy Lara \u2014 who many believe beat Alvarez in their 155-pound catchweight battle in July 2014 \u2014 thinks Alvarez vs. Crawford is a fight boxing direly needs. He likes Crawford, based on his speed, his in-fight ability to adapt to an opponent and his footwork.<\/p>\n
Going into fight night, Shields feels Crawford will weigh 170 pounds and Alvarez could blow up to over 180 pounds, which may not be good for Alvarez.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m Eddy, the only way they can beat Crawford is really hurt him early and make Crawford do things that he does not want to do,\u201d Shields said. \u201cThey need to force Crawford to fall back without throwing any punches. If I\u2019m Crawford, I would keep fighting the way I normally do. I would force Canelo to miss and counter everything Canelo does. I think people underestimate Crawford\u2019s abilities. Eddy and Canelo will need to make this an ugly fight. They need to bully Crawford, rough him up.<\/p>\n
“Crawford will need to keep calm. He needs to understand who he is fighting. Canelo wins close fights. Anything close, Crawford will not get. Anything close, that will go to Canelo. Crawford will need to keep reminding himself of that. It\u2019s why he has to outland Canelo and do everything better than Canelo does.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Canelo comes in fight night over 180, that will not be good. That will slow him down.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"LAS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/467641d0-8e92-11f0-b5fb-19d9bf9a87c1.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford is expected to be one of the biggest boxing fights of 2025.<\/p>\n
(Chris Unger\/TKO Worldwide LLC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
James, the BWAA 2022 Trainer of the Year, has previously faced Crawford as the lead trainer for Errol Spence Jr. in their July 2023 mega-fight, when Crawford stopped Spence in the ninth round to become boxing’s first undisputed welterweight champion in the four-belt era.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
James carries the same fascination about Saturday’s bout as everyone else. He feels Crawford is the better athlete. He feels Crawford has greater hand speed and footwork, although he also feels Crawford will need to stage a disciplined fight, controlling distance and punching range.<\/p>\n
On Alvarez\u2019s side, James says he possesses great timing and power.<\/p>\n
\u201cCrawford should not fight fire with fire, and he should not have to prove who he is \u2014 it should all be about boxing,\u201d James said. \u201cIf I\u2019m Eddy, my game plan would be to pressure Crawford. I would focus on defense. I would push and push him, and press Crawford out, shooting the chest, hit him on the arms and on the shoulders. Most boxers are accustomed to fighting at their own personal rhythm. I would pressure Crawford to fight my pace, break him down and make him commit. Like I said, Canelo has great timing. Pressuring Crawford will make him throw more punches, which would open him up to be countered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m BoMac, I would make sure Crawford uses the jab and boxes him. I would concentrate on more shots to the body and chest. Anytime Canelo punches, he telegraphs them. Crawford will need to move when Canelo moves. Crawford will need to be first and last, meaning hit Canelo first and hit him last in exchanges.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
“Everyone says Canelo will win a close fight. I know boxing, and it\u2019s why I said Crawford has to be first and last. I hope it is possible that Crawford can win a close fight. Every time Canelo throws a punch, he throws hard. That can tire you. As long as Crawford is disciplined in his boxing, he will win the fight [by] being first and last. The judges will see he started, and if he\u2019s last, that\u2019s the last thing the judges will see too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edwards, who most recently worked with Plant, and has worked with former WBA\/IBF super welterweight world champion Julian \u201cR-Rock\u201d Williams, agrees the winner between Alvarez and Crawford will be considered the fighter of this era.<\/p>\n
Edwards suggests the best way to get to Crawford is through the jab, pressuring him and building a hefty lead through the early rounds, when Crawford is still dissecting his opponent\u2019s tactics. Edwards also agrees with James that Alvarez will need to hurt Crawford early, and that Alvarez will need to break Crawford down with his jab, without showing his full arsenal.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t see any way Crawford can hurt him. I can see many ways Canelo can hurt Crawford. That\u2019s the mentality that we\u2019re going into this with.<\/p>\n
Alvarez’s trainer, Eddy Reynoso<\/p>\n
Alvarez, Edwards maintains, has let opponents stick around the past four years, because he does not want to expend energy in going after them for a knockout.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce Crawford breaks you down, it\u2019s over \u2014 that\u2019s why Canelo will need to jump on Crawford early,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cIf Canelo tries to bully Crawford, leans on him and junks it up, that will fatigue him. Crawford will take advantage of that. Canelo\u2019s talent comes in hard, clean punching. He will need to attack Crawford to the body and try any way to slow him down. If I\u2019m in Crawford\u2019s corner, he will have to peck and poke and work on coming out even through the first six [rounds], then go after Canelo. He will need to force Canelo to spend more energy than he wants. Canelo has never really lost a close fight. History has shown that. I do believe Crawford can knock out Canelo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Canelo has slipped. Crawford is the better-conditioned athlete. He will need to pester Canelo, who doesn\u2019t throw punches in combination anymore. Canelo will land a punch or two, and guys start running. Canelo has a great chin, but I also believe Crawford can stop Canelo late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santos, who works with the Cuban expatriate Pero brothers, heavyweights Dainier and Lenier, opposed Alvarez when he worked Lara\u2019s corner in their July 2014 fight. Santos has also worked at a couple of Alvarez’s camps in Big Bear, California.<\/p>\n
Like the other trainers here, Santos believes getting to Crawford early will be a key. He thinks Alvarez will try and walk Crawford down, and though Crawford has been known to switch from an orthodox to a southpaw stance, it will not affect Alvarez, who has been in front of every style there is.<\/p>\n
Advertisement<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure there will be rounds when Canelo cuts the ring off, and rounds when he takes some risks, because Canelo realizes this is a legacy fight,\u201d Santos said. \u201cI see this fight comparable to Oscar De La Hoya when he fought Bernard Hopkins. Oscar looked great early. His footwork looked great, his hand speed was great. Though little by little, Hopkins kept getting closer and closer. Finally, he stopped Oscar in the ninth. The same thing could happen here. Can Crawford win? Yes, but he has to fight a perfect fight to win. Canelo doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m ‘BoMac,’ I\u2019m telling Crawford to stay out of exchanges with Canelo. I don\u2019t think Crawford is a bigger puncher than Lara. I don\u2019t think he is a bigger puncher than [Dmitry] Bivol. They couldn\u2019t do anything to Canelo. Canelo will be the size of a light heavyweight on fight night, around 182 [pounds], 185. Crawford may be around 170. He never carried that amount of weight for 12 rounds. Canelo could be 12 pounds heavier than Crawford. I like Canelo\u2019s ability \u2014 he doesn\u2019t have fast feet, but he has fast hands. Canelo carries the hand speed with the weight. That\u2019s where Crawford will be in for a shock. Crawford has a tremendous heart and is a tremendous fighter. He is capable of beating Canelo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill he? Probably not. Bud Crawford may realize that there are weight classes in boxing for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They are the script-makers who work in the shadows. Hardcore boxing fans know who they are, though beyond…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,18275,18276,1250,85],"class_list":["post-133994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-canelo","tag-crawford","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}