Former middleweight champion Danny Jacobs believes Terence Crawford has the technical skills to close the gap and defeat the bigger, stronger and undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez next year.

Jacobs believes former three-weight world champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KO) has enough talent to move up two weight classes from 154 and compete with Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KO) in weighing 168 in 2025.

First, Crawford must win a fight against Israil Madrimov, the WBA junior middleweight champion, on Aug. 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Jacobs believes it will be a “tough” fight for Crawford because of Madrimov’s strength and talent, who is bigger and stronger than anyone Bud has faced in his 16-year career.

Crawford’s Age and Weight Jump

Jacobs didn’t mention Crawford’s age factor, as he turns 37 in September and isn’t the adolescent chicken he once was. Crawford, who hails from Nebraska, is roughly the same age as Jacobs, who is also seen as past his prime. It’s too tardy for Crawford to risk a weight change, especially after a long layoff of over a year.

“Sometimes skill pays the bills, and we know Crawford has skill, and so does Canelo,” Danny Jacobs said Fighting Hub TV that Terence Crawford has the technical skills to defeat the bigger, undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez if or if they face off in 2025.

Crawford’s upcoming test against Madrimov

Skill often pays off for fighters who fight outside their natural weight class, but this is a huge jump in weight for Crawford from his last fight at 147 pounds against Errol Spence on July 29, 2023. Crawford would move up from welterweight to super middleweight by 21 pounds. Although Crawford fights at 154 pounds against Madrimov on August 3, he will still jump 14 pounds to face Canelo in 2025.

Ideally, Crawford should stop at 160 and fight someone in a transition fight to ease his transition to the next level. Crawford’s ideal middleweight fight would be against IBF/WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. If Crawford wins this fight, he could move up to 168 to challenge Canelo for his four belts.

“Sometimes it’s strength, weight and experience. So it’s going to be a good test for Crawford, but if that fight goes well, the fans will be the winner,” Jacobs continued about the Canelo vs. Crawford match.

Extorting money or a legal competition?

If Crawford hadn’t fought someone at 160 or 168 pounds, showing he could compete with fighters in those two weight classes, the fight between him and Canelo would have looked more like a money fight, a circus-level spectacle seen by fight fans of British powerlifters Anthony’ Joshua and Tyson Fury’s egos with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

For this to have any sporting value, Crawford should fight someone highly ranked at 168 like David Benavidez, David Morrell or Christian Mbilli before he faces Canelo. It is not fair to the paying fans that Crawford will move up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for the undisputed championship without at least beating someone well-known at 168 to prove he deserves a title shot.

“But Crawford is having a complex time right now [WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd]Jacobs said. “I will be in the building supporting him tonight. I’m a huge fan of his and I look forward to all his achievements.”

It will be fascinating to see what approach Crawford takes against Madrimov, because if he’s in the pocket against him like he was in his last two fights against Errol Spence and David Avanesyan. These guys aren’t even half as talented, forceful and adolescent as Madrimov.

“It is possible. We’ve seen it time and time again and we’ve seen the opposite,” Jacobs said of Crawford having the skills to close the gap and make up for what he lacks in size and strength against Canelo.

Crawford’s approach and Mayweather’s plan

Crawford could follow in Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s footsteps and beat Canelo by punching, throwing, and moving for twelve rounds, but that would be uninteresting for the fans. Given Canelo’s popularity, the judges are unlikely to give Crawford a decision if he doesn’t sit on his punches.

Erislandy Lara was no match for Canelo as he followed Mayweather’s game plan, landing punches and moving throughout the twelve rounds. The judges gave the win to Canelo because his punches were cleaner and had more power. If Crawford decides to trade punches with Canelo, the risk of him getting caught in the chunky of it and getting knocked out is high.

168 will be another novel class for Crawford, and he’s already very venerable for such a gigantic jump in weight. Again, in a year where Crawford has been out of the ring, celebrating his biggest career win against Spence could hurt him in the fight against Madrimov.

If Crawford takes another year off after the Madrimov fight, which is quite likely considering the fact that Crawford only competes once a year, his chances of beating Canelo will decrease.

“Tyson Fury, he was actually a lighter guy in the amateurs and he grew into a speedy heavyweight, so he was able to adapt. It’s about seeing, knowing and actually getting there and getting the experience. But it will be a good test for Crawford in the upcoming Madrimova [fight]”Jacobs said.