Boxers from across generations have had their say on this September super-fight.
Canelo Alvarez has been doubted by fighters across different divisions, with a former heavyweight champion predicting a Terence Crawford stoppage, even if the Mexican has never been knocked down before.
However, Crawford has been made an underdog by others because of the weight difference, as Carl Froch made Canelo a ‘massive favourite’.
The undisputed super middleweight champion has thrived against many of his taller opponents by using his marauding, walk-down style to chop down his foes quickly.
A former unified middleweight champion says Terence Crawford has to step on Canelo Alvarez for one reason
Now, another former unified champion has advised ‘Bud’ to avoid any of the pitfalls of past opponents of the 35-year-old.
Kenny Pavlik, who held the unified middleweight titles, wants to see the American adopt the approaches of Dmitry Bivol and Gennady Golovkin to score the legacy-defining victory.
Speaking to Fight Hub TV, he said: “Stay in Canelo’s a- – a little early on, put Canelo behind, even if it is three out of the first four rounds.”
“Because when Canelo has to fight, and step it up, after seven rounds, he starts to fade a little bit.
“We saw it with Bivol, we’ve seen it in a lot of his fights with GGG, when Canelo can control the fight and the ring generalship, he can fight 12 rounds pretty good.”
Pavlik is known for upsetting the odds in a comeback win against Jermaine Taylor to stop him in the seventh round of their first fight, and outpointing him in the rematch.
‘The Ghost’ explained why it is the best approach because of the physical effects on the four-division champion.
“But when Canelo starts to get pushed early on in a fight, he starts to fade muscle endurance-wise, so if I was Crawford, I would try and stay in his a- – a bit in the early rounds and make him have to play catch up,” he said.
Terence Crawford could use his in-ring busyness to stifle Canelo Alvarez, according to one stat
The former undisputed welterweight champion has some of the fastest hands when he finds his flow and he is arguably one of the best switch-hitters in the game.
Across his career, he averages 46.5 punches per round, according to CompuBox, compared to his opponent, who manages 39.6 per round.
However, it is interesting that whilst he throws more, his connect percentage across all punches is 3% lower than the king of the super middleweights, who lands 36.1% of his shots.
The battle between activity and accuracy could provide an interesting read on the scorecards if both men are at their peak on the night.