Terence Crawford’s Weight Gain For Canelo Alvarez Fight: Is Speed Lost?

Ryan Garcia questions whether Terence Crawford can add the weight that he’s been putting on without it slowing him down for his fight against four-belt 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez next month on September 13th.

Will Crawford’s Weight Slow Him?

“That’s the deal. How will he react to the new weight? Sometimes you’re slower. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how Crawford adjusts, and how fast his hands move, because that’s one of Crawford’s great assets. His hand speed and timing. When you’re a little heavier,” said Ryan Garcia on social media, questioning whether Terence Crawford’s weight gain will negatively affect his performance against Canelo Alvarez on September 13th.

Crawford has a natural slender frame meant for the lighter weight classes, and he pushed himself to bulk up in his last fight at 154. We saw in his fight with Israil Madrimov that he’d lost a lot of speed, with no gain in power, and he’d visibly aged.

Bud’s New Weight, Same Speed?

For this fight against Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs), but it looks like he’s packed on a good 10 to 15 lbs, thinking it’s going to help him against the naturally stocky Mexican star. It likely won’t. It’s going to slow him down and impact his cardio.

Why Terence Needs This Win

Crawford is desperate for this fight because he knows what’s at stake. He needs a win not only to preserve his inflated 41-0 resume, but also to help him get a rematch. He’s getting $50 million smackers for this fight. A victory over Alvarez could get Crawford an even bigger payday in the rematch, perhaps as high as $100 million.

It helps that Turki Alalshikh likes Bud a lot and is willing to overlook the fact that he’s not a PPV draw. That’s not going to change, no matter what the outcome. Terence lacks the charisma, social media presence, and fighting style that fans nationwide enjoy watching. His fighting style is too similar to Shakur Stevenson, and there aren’t enough fans to support two safety-first fighters. There’s too much rabbit in Crawford. Fans want to watch fighters who mix it up, stand in front of their opponents, and throw combinations.