Lightweight title contender Keyshawn Davis says Terence Crawford will definitely fight Canelo Alvarez next year if he scores a win over Israil Madrimov on August 3 and knocks out the Mexican fighter.
Davis believes Crawford will beat Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) hands down and then move up two weight classes to beat Canelo at 168 pounds.
Keyshawn shares a trainer with Crawford in Brian “BoMac” McIntyre, so there may be a bit of bias and wishful thinking involved when it comes to what he thinks Terence (40-0, 31 KOs) is capable of doing.
Fans were banking more on the 36-year-old Crawford (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and were willing to move up to 168 pounds to first prove himself against top contender David Benavidez rather than fight just for the money.
This jump makes it look like Crawford is doing it for the money and the fans will be fooled like when Jermell Charlo, a bigger puncher than Crawford, moved up from 154 to 168 and was not Canelo’s opponent last year. It was just a money grab and Jermell hasn’t been seen since.
“I think they’ll fight, especially after Crawford’s good performance against his opponent” [Madrimov] “here,” Keyshawn Davis said Fight Center TVpredicting that Canelo Alvarez will want to fight Terence Crawford next year after he defeated WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madramimov on August 3.
If Crawford does well against a 154-pounder with 11 professional fights under his belt, that doesn’t mean Madrimov deserves to move up to 168, skip the 160-pound division entirely and move to the front of the pack to challenge Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight title.
Crawford proving his worth in a fight with one guy at 154 doesn’t mean he’ll prove his worth in a fight with Canelo at 168. That’s a money grab. Only a simpleton would see that as Crawford proving his worth.
“Then it will be almost mandatory for them” [Canelo & Crawford] “To be in the fight,” Keyshawn said. “Two men have to want to fight each other. It can’t just be one man. After Crawford proves himself [at 154]“Canelo should be ready for that.”
Keyshawn has some crazy stuff going on in his head. Crawford beating Madrimov at 154 doesn’t make him mandatory at 168. He can utilize that title to get a shot at 160, but not at 168. There won’t be a demand for Crawford to step up to the plate at 168 if he beats Madrimov at junior middleweight.
Crawford would still have to prove himself at middleweight and then face either David Benavidez or David Morrell at 168 pounds, which is out of the question because it wouldn’t end well for him.
“It is obvious that he [Canelo] has a size advantage, but size isn’t everything in a fight,” Keyshawn said, stating the obvious. “You have to bring more than just size, power and speed. You have to bring a lot of things to the table when it comes to fighting.”
If Keyshawn thought size didn’t matter, why didn’t he move up from 135 to 147 to face IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis for the title? He wasted his time trying to challenge Frank Martin and Teofimo Lopez, but why didn’t he take his word for it and show the boxing world that size doesn’t matter by taking the fight with Boots?
Unfortunately for Keyshawn, size matters in boxing, which is why we don’t see many fighters jumping up a few weight classes to take risky fights. The only time we see fighters doing that is when they see a vulnerable fighter they are confident they can beat.
“I think he [Crawford] can knock Canelo out for sure, and if he does, it’s going to be crazy,” Keyshawn said of his gym buddy Terence. “If he knocks that guy out [Madrimov] is coming, it’s gonna be crazy. This guy is a youthful, hungry lion. This guy is not coming to lay down.”
If Gennady Golovkin couldn’t knock Canelo out, then Crawford won’t, especially if he fights defensively, moves, lands punches, clinches and fights all night long like we’ve seen in the past.
Crawford is simply moving up in weight to fight Canelof or get a payday he doesn’t deserve, and it would be completely unfair to the contenders lining up at 168 pounds if he had any hope of winning.
“This guy comes in and he’s got a real IQ. This guy can really fight. So Terence is going to box him, which he’s going to do. Terence is going to knock him out, which he’s going to do; it’s going to be crazy. This fight is crazy even for him,” Keyshawn said.
We don’t know what Crawford will do in the Madrimov fight, as he’s fighting at a modern weight class of 154, has been out of action for 13 months and turns 37 in September. All we know is that Crawford has defeated a faded Errol Spence and a few other welterweights who were either on the way out or average. He wants to set himself up for a payday with a fight with Canelo before he retires.
“Terence is going to be the smaller guy in this fight. So he’s probably not going to be as aggressive. He’s probably going to catch this guy when he comes. This guy has an Eastern European style. Terence’s seen that before. With a bigger guy like that, who’s a puncher, he’s going to be more defensive,” Keyshawn said.
Crawford will land punches on Madrimov as he comes in, but whether he can avoid getting pinned is another matter. Even in the fights where Crawford dominated, he got hit a lot, and he wasn’t a guy with Madrimov’s size and strength, who at his age had been out for 13 months.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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