Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has changed his tune about fighting Terence Crawford. The Mexican superstar now says he's open to the bout if the money's right.
Crawford just moved up to super-welterweight and outpointed Israil Madrimov to win the WBA World Champion title. This puts him 14 pounds away from Canelo's weight class.
A year ago, Canelo wasn't keen on the idea. He told Boxing Azteca:
"No. [I could make a lot of money from the fight] but they are going to criticise me….and that's it, they love it. They criticised me because I fought [Jermell] Charlo who gained weight, who is bigger than me, because I'm a small fighter for these weights, and because he gained weight, but they didn't criticise him when I went up in weight. So now if you imagine Crawford as a welterweight. 168 pounds, I have everything to lose and nothing to gain because if I win, they'll say, 'Oh, he was too small, and everything.'"
Canelo worried about criticism and thought he had nothing to gain from fighting a smaller guy.
But now, he's singing a different tune. In an interview with Sway's Universe, Canelo said:
"I'm in. Why not? Don't get me wrong, he's a great fighter, but for me, in my weight class, it's an easy fight. Easy money. If the money is right, I'm in because I don't like to fight guys like Crawford; he moves a lot, and the fight is not that great. I saw in his last fight, and he doesn't move that much now. So, if the money is right, I'm in right now … there are weight classes for a reason."
Canelo noticed Crawford's new fighting style in his last bout. He thinks Crawford doesn't move as much now, making the fight more appealing.
Crawford, known as "Bud," is a switch-hitter from Omaha, Nebraska. He'd need to pack on 14 pounds to meet Canelo at super-middleweight (168 pounds).
Canelo plans to pick his next opponent this month. He might face Crawford or the IBF Super-middleweight World Champion. We'll have to wait and see if the two camps can make the numbers work for this potential super-fight.
