Eddie Hearn has claimed that Terence Crawford might use Dmitry Bivol’s strategy against Canelo Alvarez.
By all accounts Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford should be a fight of the year contender, as it features two of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the sport who both boast exceptional records.
Crawford is 41-0-0 with 31 knockout wins under his belt. As for Alvarez, he is 63-2-2. Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol are the only two men to defeat him, with Bivol edging him out in May 2022 at light heavyweight.
READ: ‘Bottled it!’: Tyson Fury put Conor McGregor in his place after he called him out
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn, though, thinks Terence Crawford can replicate the type of challenge that Dmitry Bivol did against Alvarez. Speaking to Chris Mannix, Hearn said:
I don’t think it’s not dissimilar to the Dmitry Bivol fight in the sense of how Crawford could box in that fight [against Canelo]. He’s got the ability to keep him off, show angles, and then a spurt of aggressiveness to do enough to reset I think he can back him up. I don’t think he can stop him, well, Bivol didn’t have to stop him.
Eddie Hearn further added that Alvarez’s performance against William Scull has got him doubting the Mexican. He said:
I was really leaning towards Canelo Alvarez before Saturday (against Scull). Look, you can’t take too much from it, but, the thing is about Terence, he has unbelievable self-belief.
Terence Crawford has the skills to fight any style and get the job done. However, Canelo Alvarez was the smaller man going into the Dmitry Bivol fight as he moved up in weight. Crawford will need to move up not one, but two weight classes to fight Canelo.
How he responds to Alvarez’s power could be a key decider in the contest.
