An interesting take from a Canelo Alvarez opponent who was knocked out in the ninth round.
Canelo is used to being the smaller man in the ring, but on September 13th, former undisputed welterweight king Terence Crawford will be coming up to upset the Mexican.
This ‘Bud’ two-division jump will bring back memories for Alvarez when he fought Sergey Kovalev at light heavyweight, which ended in a knockout victory for Saul.
During his days at super welterweight, he found his groove against a mix of top contenders and icons like Shane Mosley to unify the titles.
Liam Smith believes Canelo Alvarez’s power is ‘okay’, claims he’s been ‘hit harder in sparring’
After a trip up to middleweight to fight Miguel Cotto, he returned to become WBO champion by beating Liverpool’s Liam Smith with a sickening body shot.
Interviewed by First Round TV, Smith was asked to comment on the 35-year-old’s power and gave a surprising answer.
He said: “(Canelo’s power was) Okay. That’s the question the average man asks me on the street, and I’m like ‘no’.
“Not no because he obviously was, but I’ve been hit harder in sparring off people.
“It was more how good he was, he had me twitching, his relaxed shoulders, his relaxed style had me like a feint.”
Unusually for an opponent finished in such brutal fashion, he calmed talk of the boxing kingpin’s power; instead, he believes it is his other incredible skills that make him the best.
“Defensively, he’s got one of the best defences in the world… how he does that and he’s so small and compact, to think he went to light heavyweight, he’s still smaller than me now,” he continued.
“That just shows you how good he is, how solid he is, still never been dropped, I think he is a special fighter.”
Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford will have a big incentive to score a KO
Boxing greats like Shannon Briggs can see a Crawford knockout, but if either man scores one, they won’t just have won belts or pride.
The man currently in charge of boxing’s biggest fights, Turki Alalshik, explained last month that he would be implementing a knockout bonus after the Guadalarjan’s dull fight with William Scull.
It is all a part of his mission to stop ‘Tom and Jerry’ fights, where he believes fighters are not being active enough and are instead ‘running’ around the ring.
But these two are pushing for legacy, and even with the bonus up for grabs, they are only concerned with their place in history.