Andrade: Terence Crawford 'No match for Canelo'

Demetrius Andrade believes Canelo Alvarez is too big, strong and technical for Terence Crawford to step up to super middleweight and challenge him for his three titles, as he insists.

Too big, too strong

Former two-division world champion Andrade believes the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is too big a size to move up two weight classes from 154 to have a chance at beating the WBA, WBC and WBO 168 – lb champ Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs).

The Nebraska native, Crawford, struggled up to 168 to fight Canelo with no experience in the weight class. He just wants to be given a shot at the world title without first securing it by defeating top contenders waiting in line like David Morel, David Benavidez, Christian Mbili and Diego Pacheco.

It wouldn't be a problem if Terence wanted to earn a shot at the title by defeating these four fighters standing in front of him, but he doesn't want to do that. He wants Canelo to adjust him based on his data from what he has done in the other weight classes.

If you look at Crawford's resume, there isn't much to see other than the car crash win, the injured Errol Spence. The other semi-decent win on Crawford's resume came against Izrail Madrimov, but he almost lost to him and looked poor, eating right hands all night.

Crawford moved up to 154 last summer on August 3rd and dropped a narrow 12-round unanimous decision win over Madrimov. It was a fight that Terence could have easily lost if Madrimov had stepped on the gas in the last three rounds opting to throw potshots. Even in defeat, Madrimov made Crawford look old and made it clear he had reached his ceiling. He can't go from 154 to 160 or 168 without losing.

Canelo's advantages

“Yes, I believe so. I love Crawford. He is a good friend and we lend a helping hand. But when it comes to weight and power, this s*** is real,” Demetrius Andrade told the Fight Hub TV when asked if Canelo Alvarez is too big for Terence Crawford.

“Skills too. Canelo is no pushover. Look what he did to the little girl, (Jermell) Charlo. Charlo was the big bad wolf and was on the run all night from several hooks. Canelo threw some hooks and just ran all night. Where is that (intensity and courage)? Let's fight.

“I think Crawford has the skills, but when it comes to landing punches and blocking, power punches, and Canelo knows how to move as well. Has agility. He's not like a robot. It will be difficult. My opinion is my opinion. I don't think Crawford can beat Canelo,” Andrade said.

Crawford is too small to fight Canelo at 168. The fight will be all about money and will be similar to when Canelo defended his super middleweight title against Jermell Charlo last year in September. Jermell moved up from 154 and got a title shot against Canelo without proving himself.

He ran all night after feeling Canelo's power in the first round, and the fans felt robbed after that. It was a joke. If Jermell had tried to prove himself by fighting Benavidez or Morrell, he would have been out with a one-sided loss or knockout loss, and the fans wouldn't have been blown away by seeing him get to Canelo. In the real world, Crawford should win the title fight against Canelo like the other contenders, but he's looking for a shortcut to get the huge payout. This is unfortunate and wrong for the sport.

“Do I think he can give him a good fight? I'm going to sit there and root for Crawford all day,” Andrade said of Crawford. “I'll always bet on black, always, but the reality is Canelo knows how to fight. He knows how to go big and he knows how to throw tough shots.

“He's also a technical guy. Look what he did to Callum Smith – elbows, hands, all sorts of things. He will use the same tactics on a smaller guy (Crawford). I'm just saying. I'm just talking real boxing facts. I'm not trying to be in this fantasy world because I'm not in it,” Andrade said.