By Abu Mahmood: A fighter will go through his work looking for one minute. Others are unlucky not to get such an opportunity. Others will try and push themselves to write their names in the history books.
They will go up to that mountain again and again just to raise their hand and proclaim as “World Conqueror” in front of the whole world. Once that is accomplished, what else is left to fight for?
Some fighters avoid, and some fighters want to fight each other but many problems plague the fight that is done but sometimes in boxing, we see a perfect illustration of the human desire for greatness and the distinction of being called the greatest of all. which clears all odds and shows that both fighters aim to be the proverbial “king of the jungle”.
How often in boxing do we see two top Pound-4-Pound fighters fight each other?
With talks and efforts being made to see Terence Crawford (41-0-0, 31 KOs) face ring general Canelo Álvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs), what better time to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters?
Terence Crawford
Power
Switch-hitter: Crawford can fight in both the Orthodox and Southpaw stances. A skill that makes him confuse his opponents as they will not see the punches coming from different directions. Being comfortable in both positions, he can throw punches with power from more angles than one can usually fight in one stance.
When Crawford fought Shawn Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOs), he was able to turn the situation around and stop Porter in the tenth round. Changing stances allows the fighter to open up new ways to disrupt the opponent’s flow and allows the fighter to dictate the pace of the fight.
Ring IQ: Crawford knows his position in the ring very well and has a very high understanding of how to protect himself if he slips or rolls out of the way of the punch. Against Israel Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), Crawford was able to predict the punch Madrimov was going to throw and was able to make him miss, leaving him open to counter.
Crawford is a very technical fighter; he does not leave mistakes unpunished. When Madrimov widened the uppercut, Crawford was able to counter with a right uppercut of his own, timing the distance well.
Finishing ability: Terence Crawford can break down his opponents by analyzing what their typical angles are and what moves they are going to. This allows him to work on the counter and eventually finish off his opponents. When Crawford hears that his opponent can be put out for good, he doesn’t rush for the “kill”, he waits and continues to apply pressure before finishing.
Footwork: Crawford is a very active fighter. Always on the move, he makes himself very difficult to hit. He uses his footwork to create angles, cut across the ring, and make the opponent feel like they don’t have enough space to operate.
Weakness
Fighting on the back foot: Terence Crawford is not the best against an aggressive fighter. One that builds their anger and stress. This was evident in the fights against Kell Brook (40-3-0, 28 KOs) and Egidijus Kavaliauskas (24-2-1, 19 KOs), where he was in trouble.
Although Crawford has won both of these fights, when he moves up to Middleweight to fight Canelo, Crawford will face an equally big and aggressive opponent.
Susceptibility to body shots: Crawford prefers to stay more alert when blocking shots which allows him to be vulnerable to body shots. In his most recent fight against Madrimov, where he stepped up to fight a naturally bigger opponent, he was hit with multiple body shots.
If you go up a weight class, you get more power, if he’s facing Canelo, then getting hit with body shots will slow Crawford down a lot which will affect his footwork and this will start to shut him down resulting in less reaction and less takedowns.
Canelo Alvarez
Power:
Ring presence: Canelo has a ring presence that often leaves his opponents stunned. This combination of fear and panic could lead to Canelo taking control of the fight very quickly. As they say in boxing “You never want to play catch-up”. Once the flow of the battle is firmly in the fighter’s control, it becomes very difficult to reverse it resulting in the opponent leaving being B-side at night.
Adaptability: Canelo can adapt when going against his opponents. He can tell if a fighter is repeating the same thing or if the fighter has information that allows him to plan how to fight during the fight.
Some examples of his feats include when he fought Billy Joe Saunders (30-1-0, 14KOs) with a knockout that shattered Saunders’ orbital bone and was the beginning of the end.
Another example of Canelo’s ability to adapt was when he fought Amir Khan (34-6-0, 21KOs) and he was so upset by his speed that he began targeting Khan’s body with powerful shots to create an opening for a nasty right hand that lay dormant. Khan is out in the cold.
Calm under pressure: One could say that Canelo has more to prove by defending his world titles than an opponent trying to dethrone him. That being said, Canelo can stay calm under pressure in his fights, allowing him to stay focused on the task at hand without being distracted by emotions or the crowd. The bigger the fight, the more eyes are on the event, and it takes a special person to stay calm with all that pressure on their shoulders.
Toughness: Canelo is a tough fighter. He keeps a game plan and rarely deviates from it. He adapts to the required style and sticks to it. Most of the time, he is content to walk his opponent to the ground and cut the ring, allowing him to break his opponent.
Weaknesses:
Flat-footed puncher: Canelo, at this stage of his career, prefers to use a simple and easy technique, which slows him down and allows other boxers to beat him. This gives him the opportunity to lose rounds and take longer to break his opponent. Dmitry Bivol (23-0-0, 12KOs), was able to use this opportunity and beat Canelo to the top by taking the most effective form and technique.
Struggling with boxers who rely on footwork: Canelo has struggled against fighters like Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant (22-2-0, 13Kos) due to their ability to move around the ring and stay on the feet. Although Canelo defeated both Saunders and Plant, he seemed to struggle to keep up with their moves which could hurt him if Crawford can’t maintain his fluidity at that weight.
This fight will be one of the biggest challenges for both of them. Crawford would dare to face one of the most successful fighters of the last decade. Canelo would face one of the most technical and elusive fighters in the world today.
Both men can fight for something more than world titles here. They would fight for a legacy and the right to be known as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history.
This writer believes this will be a cage match to begin with. Canelo and Crawford will spend the first few rounds getting used to each other’s styles with a few big shots. This battle will come down to one thing: Mental power.
Many times we see a fighter persevere through difficult times in a fight to come back and win. It’s one of the things that we as boxing fans like to see, and it’s one of the things that makes the sport of boxing exciting.
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