Terence Crawford might knock out Canelo Alvarez if they fight, says retired champ James Toney. The bold prediction comes as talk of a potential super-middleweight clash between the two stars heats up.
Crawford just grabbed his fourth world title in as many weight classes. He beat Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision to claim the WBA 154lb belt. Now, he's got his sights set on even bigger fish.
Eddie Hearn, who used to promote Canelo, thinks Crawford won't step in the ring again unless it's against the Mexican superstar. He said on YouTube:
"It doesn't look like [he will get the Canelo fight] at the moment. I don't think Crawford will fight again outside of Canelo Alvarez. I don't think he has the desire. He definitely won't fight Vergil Ortiz in my opinion, I don't think he'll fight Fundora. He made a lot of money last time out, he made a lot of money against Spence and I think he's thinking if I don't make a lot of money I'm done."
Canelo brushed off the idea at first, saying he'd get no credit for beating a smaller guy. But now he's open to talking about it after his next fight with Edgar Berlanga on September 14 in Las Vegas.
James Toney, a Hall of Fame inductee and former super-middleweight champ, thinks Crawford's got what it takes to beat Canelo. He told YouTube:
"Yep. Crawford beats Canelo, by KO"
Toney didn't stop there. He ripped into Canelo's fighting style, saying on Boxing247:
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"Canelo, he fights one way. Everybody thinks he's a diamond. He's not. He's garbage. Canelo couldn't even carry my gym shoes. I would knock him out."
Crawford, 36, faces a big challenge moving up two weight classes to fight Canelo. But the American's shown he's got the skills to compete at the highest level. We'll have to wait and see if this dream match-up comes together after Canelo's next fight.