Trainer Calvin Ford expects to see improvements in the power of Terence Crawford in his next fight at 154. Ford thinks Crawford will look much better in the power department in his next fight at junior middleweight after whoever he faces.
Ford doesn’t say where Crawford will find some power to compete with the killers in the 154 lb division because he’s on the old side to make strides in this area. It’s not like he can go to Walmart and purchase some Julian Jackson-level power.
Fans had expected Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) to look as dominating in his fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov in their fight on August 3rd as he had a year earlier against Errol Spence at welterweight. However, Crawford didn’t look like the same guy power-wise and was forced to eat a lot of hard shots from ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov, who landed the more effective punches throughout the 12-round contest.
The judges gave Crawford the win based on his jabbing, but it was not an impressive win. Crawford looked like the loser at the end, with their face beaten up, tired, and a hang-dog look, like he knew he’d gotten the worst of it.
“Canelo is the King. Whatever he says, but it’s a good fight. I’d like to see that fight for its outcome,” said trainer Calvin Ford to Fighthhype when asked about his thoughts on a fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. “I’ve been watching Canelo. He’s been making some good moves as far as fights and whatnot. So, again, he’s the King.’
Canelo is out of Crawford’s class in terms of power, size, and technical ability. The Nebraska native needs to focus on more realistic targets, like WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora. That’s a good starting point for Crawford, and if he wins that, hie can go after the winner of the Tim Tszyu vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev clash for the undisputed championship at 154.
“It’s his first fight. I can’t say he didn’t carry his power up there. He had to make adjustments and stuff,” said Ford. “That was his first fight at that weight,” said Ford, reacting to being told that it didn’t appear that Crawford carried his power up to 154 in his first fight in the division against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.
“That was like my man, ‘The Monster’ [David] Benavidez went up in weight [to light heavyweight]. It’s based on making adjustments. I hope Terence Crawford gets another fight at that weight so he can show the world that it’s there. If it’s not there, we’re going to start questioning.”
What adjustments can Crawford make to gain punching power? You either have it or you don’t. It’s not like Crawford can throw his punches with a different angle to find power that he was never meant to possess at 154. Just because Crawford was a semi-puncher at 135, 140, and 154 doesn’t mean he’s going to be one at 154 or 168.
“Crawford is a bad boy. He’s moving up because he wants to get the fights. He’s not getting no younger,” said Ford. “So, he’s doing all the stuff that he had to do to put his legacy.”
If Crawford really wants the Canelo fight, the best way to get that match is to forget about 154 and shoot up to 168 to take on one of these talents:
– David Benavidez
– Christian Mbilli
– Diego Pacheco
– David Morrell
– Caleb Plant
– Jaime Munguia
Beating two or three of those fighters at 168 will be the key to the Kingdom for Crawford, opening the drawbridge for him to meet with King Canelo in his royal chamber. But the way Crawford is going about it now, campaigning for it like a politician running for office, makes him look like he’s desperate for a retirement payday. Canelo can’t respect that.
