Terence Crawford wants to fight Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, even though they're two weight classes apart. This potential match-up has got Oscar De La Hoya changing his mind.
De La Hoya, a Hall of Fame fighter and Canelo's former promoter, used to think Crawford would win easily. Now, he sees things differently. The change came after Crawford's debut at super-welterweight.
Crawford, a four-weight world champion, aims to challenge Canelo at super-middleweight. That's a big jump - he'd need to gain 14 pounds to make it happen. Canelo, also a four-weight world champion, currently holds all the belts at super-middleweight.
Late last year, De La Hoya was all in on Crawford. He told Fight Hub TV:
"Terence Crawford will beat Canelo anytime. If this fight is made at 164 then Terence Crawford all day. Based on skillset alone, Crawford is a master and will make Canelo look like a child. From an expert fighter's view, Crawford will beat him in a masterclass all day."
De La Hoya's reasoning? While bigger talented fighters usually beat smaller talented ones, he didn't see Crawford as small. He thought Crawford could easily fight at 168 if he wanted to.
But Crawford's recent fight at super-welterweight made De La Hoya rethink things. He told Fight Hub TV:
"At 154, [Crawford] didn't really look too dangerous up in the ring, against a beast. So imagine Canelo being the bigger guy, being a beast, it's almost like a no contest. I mean, come on, when has a smaller good guy ever beaten a good bigger guy. It's never happened in the history of the sport. It's rare."
Right now, neither fighter has a match lined up. Canelo's team says they'll look at any offers that come their way. We'll have to wait and see if this dream match-up becomes a reality.
