Can Terence Crawford hurt Canelo Alvarez? I’ve been involved in controversial discussions on X concerning this matter.
Personally, I believe he can, not because he has more raw-power than any other opponent Canelo has faced (Crawford doesn’t).
But, because Crawford is a sneaky boxer, who can land a powerful punch that you don’t see coming, these are the punches that have the greatest effect.
Neither GGG, or Bivol noticeably hurt Canelo, Canelo does indeed have an iron-chin, but these fighters were happy to take the lead in their respective matches.
Furthermore, Bivol isn’t a big puncher in his respective weight-class, and Canelo has got better at riding, and defending shots as he’s gotten older.
Now, lets examine this matter more deeply, and look at past fights from both fighters:
Firstly, I’m going to look at the Jose Cotto fight, this was a younger Canelo who did get rocked at a lower weight-class (relative to weight-classes Canelo has competed in):
Canelo Alvarez vs Jose Cotto
Canelo did a very good job at staying on his feet, but he was visibly hurt, he was a younger, greener fighter at this stage.
He may also have been dehydrated, after having to boil down to a weight-class he may not have been comfortable with (this contest was at super-welterweight, 154lbs).
He made no attempt to ride the shot, but he had his right-hand in place to try and protect himself, this indicated his experience level at the time.
Punch-resistance should be better when a fighter is younger in theory, but Canelo’s punch-resistance appears to have improved as he’s gone up the weight-classes, this may be due to hydration.
Next, lets look at a battle, where Canelo took an array of punches, without being badly hurt:
Canelo vs GGG I
This punch lands near the ear, this is a risky area, but I wonder if it would have had greater effect if it had landed on the jaw, or the temple?
Anyhow, this was amazing from Canelo, as he took a punch very well that likely would have knocked out a lesser boxer.
This contest was at middleweight (160lbs), which suited Canelo better than 154lbs, I do think super-middleweight is his optimal weight (168lbs).
Next clip is Canelo being worked on the ropes by Dmitry Bivol.
Canelo vs Bivol
Bivol was splitting the guard with 1s, 2s, and 3s, and was landing the 2s with a good frequency; albeit, these weren’t landing flush (Canelo was rolling with the shots slightly).
I also don’t think Bivol’s intention was to knock out Canelo; rather, I think he wanted to take advantage of a situation to control the ring, and get points.
Bivol had dominated Canelo, who had struggled to find his range, and penetrate the defences of Bivol (Bivol has an excellent guard and footwork, and Canelo didn’t possess the fast-feet required to get inside and land hurtful shots).
We’ve seen what punches Canelo can take, now we will look at the sort of shots Crawford hurts opponents with:
Crawford vs Porter
Crawford was the first, and last boxer to stop Porter (Porter had since retired from boxing), he catches Porter with a left-uppercut coming in in the following clip:
Why was the punch so effective? It was timed perfectly as Porter was coming in, where momentum acted against Porter.
Porter was known for his toughness and work-rate, but he isn’t the hardest puncher, but likes to comes inside to work.
He was at the end of his career when he fought Crawford, so his punch resistance was likely at it’s lowest comparatively speaking.
Next, lets look at Crawford vs Madrimov, Madrimov is an unorthodox, switch-hitting hard-hitter in his prime in the super-welterweight division (154lbs):
Crawford vs Madrimov
Crawford lands a very good left-uppercut in this clip, it doesn’t noticeable hurt Madrimov, but does enough to get his respect.
Crawford did take good right-hands from Madrimov in this fight, so his punch-resistance looks good in this weight-class.
Still fast, and slick as he has moved up to 154lbs, if he were to fight Canelo however, he would likely need to move up to middleweight, or super-middleweight.
Crawford vs Khan
I’ve included this not because this was an amazing stoppage by Crawford, but that he is an opponent-in-common.
Crawford stops Khan with a surprise body-shot, a shovel-hook on the inside from the orthodox stance.
Crawford’s switch-hitting is something to note, because he uses it catch opponents off-guard.
Body-shots can be overlooked; of course, Canelo’s stoppage of Khan (also in round 6) was more impressive, as it was a clean knock out with a punch that was perfectly-timed on Khan’s jaw.
Conclusion
Can Crawford hurt Canelo? Yes, but he has to time Canelo coming in; if Canelo is ready for the shot, he will brace for it, nullify much of the momentum, and counter in response.
Crawford carries less power than Canelo, but hits hard for his weight, Canelo’s physical strength may mean that Canelo can control the inside.
Crawford’s best chances, are to stay on the outside, and work his power-punches as Canelo marauds towards him, trying to setup his own power-shots.
I’m not sure how well Crawford can take a perfectly-timed left-hook from Canelo, or his right-uppercut, both are very powerful punches from Canelo.
We saw what happened to Berlanga, where Canelo dropped him with a single fast-paced, perfectly-timed left-hook to the jaw.
He also dropped Munguia, a very strong fighter known for his work-rate, punch-power and toughness with a right-uppercut on the inside where the guard was open.