“Crawford Didn’t Look Strong”: Ryan Garcia Claims Terence Is Overmatched Against Canelo Alvarez, Questions His Power At Higher Weight

Ryan Garcia says Terence Crawford “can’t beat” unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in their September fight. Garcia notes that Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) “didn’t look strong” in moving up to 154 against Israil Madrimov last August in Los Angeles.

Crawford’s Flaws

Madrimov, 5’8 1/2″, isn’t that big and not the puncher that Canelo is at 168. Crawford looked his age in that fight, like a 40-ish fighter whose power didn’t carry up from the 147-lb division. He was getting lit up by Madrimov the entire fight, eating right hands and showing no power with his shots.

Crawford resembled your typical, everyday 40-year-old against Madrimov and was lucky to win. With a different set of judges focused on harder, cleaner landing shots, they’d have given the win to Madrimov. His punches were far more effective in every round.

The way Crawford looked in that fight, he’d lose to Madrimov in a rematch and be destroyed by the other 154-pounders, like Bakhram Murtazaliev, Serhii Bohachuk, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. He’d be meteor dust after fighting those guys.

If not for Riyadh Season, Canelo-Crawford would NOT be happening because Alvarez wasn’t going to indulge Crawford to give him this fight without him earning it by moving up to prove himself against the killers, David Benavidez, David Morrell, and Osleys Iglesias.

If Crawford wants the golden parachute retirement payday against Canelo, let him go through those three, and if there’s anything left of him afterward, let him fight the Mexican superstar.

Crawford would have never done that because the results would have been negative for him. He’d go 0-3 against those guys and likely be knocked out by each of them. A small, weak 40-year-old against those fighters would be a mismatch.

“Didn’t Look Strong”

“He can’t beat Canelo, no way,” said Ryan Garcia to the Akin Reyes & Barak Bess YouTube channel about Terence Crawford not beating Canelo Alvarez when they fight in September. “I don’t see him beating Canelo. He didn’t even look that strong against [Israil] Madrimov [on August 3rd last year], to be honest, and Madrimov isn’t even that big.”

“They have two different styles,” said Akin, coming to Crawford’s defense for why he looked so poor against Madrimov, getting out-punched the entire fight and barely beating him.

“In an out counter-punching,” said Bess about Madrimov’s fighting style that he used effectively aganst Crawford.

“The thing with Canelo is, he’s mastered his style, and he ain’t going to change it up,” said Ryan. “He’s mastered it. He understands what’s going on in the ring at all times. I just don’t see Terence beating him. I don’t.”

It’s too bad that Riyadh Season isn’t making Crawford jump through a couple of hoops to get the Canelo fight because it would make it more interesting for casual boxing fans who don’t know who he is or dislike his fighting style. At the minimum, Crawford should have to go through David Benavidez or David Morrell to get the Canelo fight. Just one of those two, and you get the fight. If you lose, oh well.