"For years Bud Crawford's name has been synonymous with patience. Denied mainstream recognition and opportunities against name-brand fighters, he kept beating everyone they put in front of him until he'd unified all four titles at junior welterweight. Then he did it again at welterweight with a dismantling of Errol Spence Jr so complete it cemented his place in boxing's pound-for-pound S-tier alongside Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk."
"His gifts are obvious: the ability to switch seamlessly between stances, to read rhythms like sheet music, and to mete out punishment with icy composure once he's cracked the code. Crawford's scaling of two weight classes for this fight remains the 168lb elephant in the room. All but one of his 41 professional bouts took place at 147lb or below, while Canelo has been entrenched at 168 for nearly seven years and once captured a title at 175."
"Just as important, Canelo's aura of near-invincibility has dimmed. He has not finished an opponent inside the distance in nearly four years. Against elusive opposition (Callum Smith, John Ryder, most recently William Scull), he has been content to bank rounds rather than impose himself. Against slick boxers (Mayweather, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, Amir Khan for a while), he's even looked ordinary. If the Mexican superstar is indeed in gentle decline, Crawford is precisely the kind of opponent capable of exposing it."
Terence Crawford built a reputation for patience, repeatedly beating opponents until unifying titles at junior welterweight and then dominating Errol Spence Jr at welterweight. Crawford's strengths include seamless stance-switching, rhythm reading, and composed punishment once opponents are deciphered. The jump to 168lb is notable: almost all of Crawford's fights were at 147lb or below, while Canelo Alvarez has been established at 168lb for nearly seven years and has fought as high as 175lb. Physical measures favor Crawford slightly, and camp reports claim preserved quickness at higher weight. Canelo's recent lack of stoppages and more cautious performances suggest vulnerability Crawford could exploit.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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