Many in boxing think the weight jump will be too much for Crawford. But Shawn Porter, Crawford's former opponent, sees it differently. Porter shared his thoughts on his podcast, "The Porter Way."
"Hate me, but I think it's a 50-50 fight. It's really, really hard for me to see Canelo losing to Crawford. But also there's things that I can see that Crawford is so good at, that I can't see him not being able to be sharp and do that round after round."
Porter knows Crawford's skills firsthand. In 2021, Crawford stopped Porter in ten rounds, leading to Porter's retirement.
The former welterweight champion pointed out Crawford's sharpness against top opponents. He also mentioned that Crawford has been rocked by opponents in the past. For Canelo, Porter believes if he comes in firing on all cylinders, it's only a matter of time.
In the end, Porter couldn't make a definitive prediction, saying, "God damn, I don't know."
Canelo has been hot and cold on the fight. He dismissed it in the past but now says he'd talk if the numbers were right. Crawford, on the other hand, is highly motivated for this matchup. He might even retire if he can't get it, as no other fight brings him the same motivation.
Both Canelo and Crawford are four-weight world champions. A fight between them would be a major event in boxing, pitting two of the sport's best against each other across weight classes.