Terence Crawford has the skillset to beat all-time great Canelo Alvarez - and history is on his side

On the face of it, Terence Crawford has it all to do against Saul Alvarez in Las Vegas. On paper, his age, size and weight are all against him.

Yet, the more I ponder this fight the more I come around to Crawford. Think of the guys that have beaten Canelo, the technique of those fighters, sharp shooters and defensively good.

Floyd Mayweather, quick and defensive - though Canelo was relatively young then - and Dimitry Bivol. Crawford is of that ilk. And like Bivol he does not play safe, despite his defensive skill set.

Erislandy Lara, a southpaw Cuban quick, also gave Canelo trouble, Daniel Jacobs too. Canelo has been boxing since he was 15, 20 years as a pro. His record is incredible. The fact that he couldn’t get past Bivol at light heavyweight does not discredit him.

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He’s up there in the list of all-time Mexican greats alongside Carlos Zarate, Julio Cesar Chavez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricardo Lopez, Eric Morales and Antonio Barrera.

Crawford did not look great in his last fight at light middleweight and has not been active, but this is not any old contest and he has always turned up at the big show.

He walked into the lion’s den in Glasgow and outclassed Ricky Burns at lightweight. He knocked out Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Amir Khan, Jose Benevidez Jnr and Errol Spence at welter.

He can box out of a southpaw and orthodox stance and has great timing and balance. He rarely gets hit clean, and when he does get caught he has a great chin.

Moreover, his timing and distance control is first class and he is a vicious, nasty puncher. He is also half an inch taller than Canelo. And though he is jumping up three divisions from his best weight at 147, he has the height to cope.

Crawford would not be doing this unless he thought he had a great chance to win. There is no weight restriction here. He is coming up two divisions from his last fight because he fancies his chances.

Though he’s only a month from his 38th birthday, he has not abused his body. He doesn’t drink, and has only half the rounds under his belt that Canelo has. Canelo believes being a time-served super middleweight gives him the edge. I don’t think the weight will be a factor here.

Canelo is an old school fighter but he does not have the spite nor the bite he used to have. Since losing to Bivol all his fights have gone the distance.

He is also the undisputed king of Mexico. And as the great Marvin Hagler used to say, it’s hard to get out of bed when you sleep in silk pyjamas. Crawford on points for me.

Follow Barry on X at @‌ClonesCyclone @mcguigan’s_Gym