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.