Paul Williams, a former world champion and frustrated rival of Canelo Alvarez, shared his thoughts on the upcoming fight between Alvarez and Terence Crawford in Las Vegas this weekend.
Williams recalled a fight that never happened 13 years ago. He was set to face Canelo on a Mexican Independence weekend card, but a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. The fight got canceled, and Canelo ended up defeating Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas instead.
Since then, Williams has kept a close eye on Alvarez's career. He believes his 2012 strategy could have caught a younger, less experienced Canelo off guard.
"I knew I had power. I was going to back off all night and let him follow me. By the seventh round, I was going to start walking towards him and put pressure on him. That was my plan: to put that strong blow on him."
Williams planned to wear Canelo down with a high volume of punches in the early rounds. He thought his style of throwing more than 100 punches per round, along with his height and reach advantage, would give him an edge over the 22-year-old Canelo, who was still learning the ropes.
The Mexican boxer has grown a lot since those days. He's now got the experience of many great battles under his belt. But he's also under pressure to prove he's still got what it takes.
Crawford wants to make the biggest statement of his career, but his situation is different from what Williams faced. Williams offered some advice for Crawford's strategy:
"The only way Crawford is going to beat him is by becoming a dog. He has to go after Canelo, hit him in the mouth. That changes the whole night."
Williams stressed that Crawford shouldn't hold back on aggression. He'll need to bring the fight to Canelo if he wants to come out on top.
The boxing world will watch closely as these two champions face off in Las Vegas. Will Crawford take Williams' advice? Or will Canelo's experience prove too much? We'll find out this weekend.
