Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez is warming up to the idea of fighting Terence Crawford. The Mexican superstar has changed his tune about facing the American, who's currently two weight classes below him.
Crawford's been making waves at super-welterweight, looking to challenge himself against the best. Canelo's journey through the weight classes has been impressive. He grabbed his first world title at super-welterweight and has since dominated at super-middleweight. He's even made two jumps to light-heavyweight, beating Sergey Kovalev but losing to Dmitry Bivol. Canelo's career has been marked by these bold moves up in weight.
At first, Canelo wasn't budging from his stance on fighting at 168 pounds. He said:
"I can't go down anymore. But, you know, like he said when they asked him about the Gervonta Davis fight, he wouldn't get credit for that fight. It's the same for me. I don't need to take that fight because everybody [would] say he's too small … [It would have to be] 168."
Crawford fired back, saying he'd gladly move up to super-middleweight to challenge for Canelo's belts. He's confident he can pull off the win.
Now, Canelo's singing a different tune. In a recent chat on Sway's Universe, he opened up about the potential fight:
"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 sees Crawford as a great fighter but thinks it'd be an easy fight at his weight. He's noticed Crawford doesn't move as much as he used to, which makes him more interested in the matchup. The Mexican champ is clear: if the money's right, he's game.
As for what's next, Canelo might return to the ring soon. There's talk of him facing William Scull, the IBF Super-middleweight World Champion. But with this new openness to a Crawford fight, fans might be in for a surprise announcement.
