Saturday Night Boxing: Opinions and Observations: Canelo-Crawford

Let's start by answering the essential question posed by Saturday's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez-Terence Crawford matchup: even though Crawford was moving up two weight classes from junior middleweight to super middleweight, his chin held up just fine. Whatever else Crawford accomplished in the fight, he was able to succeed because he could take Canelo's power.

But even more telling, Crawford didn't show visible signs of distress from Canelo's power punches. He was never dropped or wobbled or seriously buzzed. He didn't have those rocky moments where he needed to survive or clear his head. Yeah, he got hit with some solid shots, but that had happened in other fights before. There was nothing particularly special to Crawford about Canelo's power.

Crawford after the fight
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland/TKO Boxing Promotions

And once it became clear that Canelo didn't hold a significant power edge, the bout came down to simple math. Canelo mostly could only throw one punch at a time. And in the second half of the fight, where Crawford was more expansive with his offense, leading and countering with combinations, Canelo couldn't match Crawford shot for shot.

In addition to Crawford's chin holding up, I also believe that his defense was as good as I can remember, and I haven't always loved his defense. Even Bivol was hit by Canelo with bigger shots than Crawford was on Saturday. Crawford essentially limited Canelo's home run bombs. Maybe Canelo landed one or two devastating punches, but most of what he landed were solid connects thrown more for accuracy than for destructive power.

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Crawford started the fight with a basic offensive output. Exclusively out of the southpaw stance, he'd throw a jab, a single lead punch or a counter, but not much more than that. He was mostly on his back foot or using lateral movement to be evasive. He didn't want to show Canelo too much of his offensive arsenal, but he also didn't want to give Canelo much to work with either. His essential missions early in the fight were to ensure that his defense was on point and to observe what Canelo was bringing to the table.

By the sixth round he had seen what he had needed to see. He realized that Canelo wanted to lead with single shots and wasn't looking to counter. Crawford also perceived that once he countered a single Canelo power shot, that Canelo wasn't ready to counter the counter. Canelo also wasn't throwing combinations. Crawford was now ready to open up more. It was time to let the hands go.

In rounds eight and nine, Canelo decided to throw with more abandon. There were a number of fiery exchanges where both fighters had success. But by the 10th, Canelo was back to one punch at a time. He didn't want to deal with Crawford's five-punch combinations. He lacked the athletic agility to match Crawford and he had to protect himself from Crawford's incoming firepower.

By the 11th round, Canelo was visibly frustrated. At multiple times in the round, he looked away from Crawford. Whether he was trying to eye his corner or just mentally reset, he understood that he was being outfought and he couldn't figure out how to turn the tide.

It was Crawford's work in the championship rounds that won him the fight on my scorecard and those of the judges. Flowing freely with combinations and multi-punch counters, Crawford clearly separated himself from Canelo during these rounds. He didn't just win them 10-9; they were easily the best rounds from either fighter in the match.

Crawford celebrates with his team
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland/TKO Boxing Promotions

It had been a long time since a fighter opened up on Canelo with four- and five-punch combinations. Clearly Crawford felt more than comfortable taking those types of risks. By the end of the fight, he had solved Canelo's defensive construct and mindset for the fight. His combinations dissuaded Canelo from countering with ferocity. In short, Crawford had tamed Canelo.

As good as Crawford was late, Canelo wasn't summarily outboxed during the entirety of the fight. Like two of the judges, I scored the bout for Crawford 115-113 (the other judge had it for him 116-112). To my eyes, I had Canelo winning rounds 1, 4, 5, 8 and 9. Especially early in the fight, I was impressed by Canelo's hand speed with landing single shots. When they both were throwing one punch at a time, Canelo more than held his own. His left hooks to the body were punishing and he landed a few sneaky straight rights and right hooks that got Crawford's attention.

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In talking to a friend after the fight, we highlighted similar details from the bout. One key we both focused on was that Canelo could no longer counter like he once did. Now we may need to go back several years here, but there was a time when Canelo was among the best counterpunchers in the sport. Not only was he accurate but he was creative. He threw multi-punch counters with unusual punch sequences. He could be incredible in the pocket when someone came to him.

But clearly Father Time and the higher weights have caught up with him. Though he was the younger fighter in the matchup chronologically, Canelo had hundreds of more professional rounds than Crawford and had endured many tougher fights in the ring. He just isn't the athlete that he once was.

Furthermore, as Canelo moved up to 168, he had physical disadvantages that precluded him from being a counterpuncher. He was short and had short arms. He was dealing with much longer punchers who could pick him off from the outside. Thus, Canelo found a walk-down pressure style that suited him perfectly against super middleweights. The dimensions of his opponents didn't allow for Canelo to open up with threes and fours like he once did, but Canelo understood that the single, hard, well-placed shot could do a lot of damage.

As he got older, he also refined other parts of his game. His defense became far more advanced. He also knew how to cut the ring off on an opponent with agile footwork, despite not having the best athletic ability. These additions to his game helped him offset the decline of his athletic gifts. Unfortunately for Canelo, against Crawford, more was required to win. Maybe the Canelo of the second Golovkin fight (a bout that took place at middleweight) could have done more with this version of Crawford. There Canelo actually outslugged Golovkin in the pocket through large stretches of the fight. However, that bout was seven years ago!

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Whenever a fighter accomplishes the unfathomable, it takes a long time to process the achievement in an appropriate context. The absurdity of the same fighter winning a title at lightweight and super middleweight seems more myth-like than reality. But Crawford in fact has accomplished this. Even when considering recent greats who have made similar leaps through weight classes, like Pacquiao going from flyweight to junior middleweight or Ray Leonard going from welterweight to light heavyweight, those fighters took losses along the way, whereas Crawford's record remains unblemished. Even the great Roy Jones had a loss to Montell Griffin on his way from middleweight to heavyweight, and we can all agree that John Ruiz wasn't lineal or undisputed when Jones beat him.

Crawford has not just won belts in multiple weight classes. He has been undisputed in three of them. He has settled the argument of his greatness in his era. He beat a guy in Canelo who had four titles at 168. In Errol Spence he defeated an opponent who held the other three belts in the division.

You still won't see a long list of great names on Crawford's resume. He has a win over a clear Hall of Famer in Canelo and another over a solid candidate in Spence. There are several fighters such as Gamboa, Porter, Khan, Brook, and others who were sterling for the era but don't really have claims to be among the best boxers of their time.

So, much about Crawford is still subject to speculation. We know that among those he has fought, he has beaten all. There was a deep bench of welterweights when he was there and didn't have opportunities to fight Pacquiao or Garcia. The division he just left after one fight, junior middleweight, has tons of talented fighter. Would he have still remained undefeated against a few of those other top fighters? We will never know.

But in those all-time conversations, it's time to add Crawford to the mix. A man who can be undisputed at both 140 and 168 lbs. has forced himself into all sorts of serious discussions. Is Crawford the best of his era? Which fighters are we sure can beat him from 135 to 168? These are of course parlor games, but they are the eternal conversations among boxing fans. Crawford is now in the historical category. He's a data point in comparison for how future fighters will be measured. His attributes must now be considered and measured against the best who have done it.

But more than conjecture, Crawford is a fighter who has accomplished. He refused to accept the limitations placed on him by others. Never anyone's first choice for boxing stardom, or even greatness, Crawford ignored those who didn't believe in him and tore down those who stood in his way. He wouldn't be denied, by opponents, the boxing industry or even himself. He pursued a singular path to greatness and succeeded. His dreams were big, but his talent was even greater. He no longer has to worry about fantasy fights or what ifs. He has conquered.

Crawford is the supreme interloper of his era in boxing. He wasn't invited to the party, but he crashed it, leaving an impressive trail of wreckage along his way. No cash cow or beltholder has been safe near his presence. He has bent the sport of boxing to his will. He is a Hagler figure with a Ray Leonard pedigree, a package that has been unsolvable for any of his contemporaries. It is his reign.