THE LONG BATTLE FOR RECOGNITION
The Ring: Mexico has a rich boxing tradition. Who is your favorite Mexican fighter and why? TC: I don’t want to say I have a favorite Mexican fighter. I enjoyed watching Marco Antonio Barrera. I enjoyed watching Erik Morales. I enjoyed watching Julio Cesar Chavez. Bam Rodriguez, I like watching him. [Editor's note: Though of Mexican descent, Rodriguez was born in Texas.] Canelo Alvarez, of course, I love watching him. Those are a few names I can say I enjoyed watching in my time in boxing.
By the midway point of the Burns vs. Crawford fight, which took place before 10,000 passionate Scots at the SECC Arena in Glasgow, it was clear which of the two scenarios I was watching. Terence Crawford was special. Demonstrating what has become his signature talent, the American switched almost exclusively to the southpaw stance in the middle rounds and pulled away on the scorecards. Burns didn’t have any answers and lost a unanimous decision.
when I fought Ricky Burns, he was a two-division champion. After I took his title, he went up in weight and became a three-division champion. It’s rare for someone to become a one-time champion. For him to be a champion in three different divisions, I think there’s a lot of disrespect from those who say he’s not a great fighter. You’ve got fighters being compared to him that were maybe a champion in one
Their opinion counts because they’ve been around me my whole life. They know me in and out of the ring. As a team, we’ve got to make a decision on the moves we make. The Ring: There’s a lot of motivation going into this fight. This is the biggest fight in boxing, it’s another undisputed championship, and it’s a career-high payday. What is the number
All the odds are stacked against me. I’m the smaller guy coming up in weight. He’s the bigger guy who’s been knocking out bigger guys. To win a fight that people don’t think you’re capable of winning means everything. The Ring: Do you love proving people wrong? TC: For sure. That’s why I train so hard. I’ve been proving people wrong my whole career. Nobody thought I was going to be this great. Nobody, outside of my hardcore team, would have told you that I was going to be here fighting the biggest fight we’ve seen in the last 20 years. The Ring: When you’re written off and have something to prove, does that make you even more dangerous? TC: I think I’m dangerous when I’m the favorite. I never take an opponent lightly. I train like I’m the underdog every single time. Like I said, I’ve been proving the world wrong for years and always felt the cards were stacked against me. That’s my mentality and that’s what I’m taking into the ring on September 13.
both men were skilled. TC: I won’t use that fight, because Usyk had fought in that division before. I would say Roy Jones against John Ruiz. The Ring: I thought about that one, but the skill gap was so colossal. I mean, no disrespect intended, but Canelo Alvarez is no John Ruiz. TC: For sure, but we’re talking about weight divisions. I’m talking about a fighter who had never fought in that weight division before. This is more like Roberto Duran going up to fight Marvin Hagler. Those are the types of fights I’d think about.
A matter of weeks after Crawford had become a world titleholder for the first time, Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez unified the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine junior middleweight championships with a hard- fought 12-round unanimous decision over Austin Trout at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Once again, I was up watching the action in the early hours of the morning in the U.K. If you’d have told me then that Canelo vs. Crawford would become a reality 11 years later, I’d have spit my coffee across the room. However, Crawford has been the author of his destiny
The Ring: When Sugar Ray Robinson first won the
middleweight title, he weighed 155 pounds, five pounds beneath the weight limit. The weight limit for this fight is 168, but is it in your best interest to go that high? TC: I’ll weigh what I weigh. Whatever my teams feel is best and we’ll calculate those things in training. We’ll look at what my best performances were [in sparring] and what weight were we at. How does the fighter feel,
“My number one motivation is winning. It’s not about the payday, it’s not about the belts, it’s about what comes with winning this fight.Everything else is an extra.”
The Ring: Could you break down Canelo for me as a fighter in terms of pluses and minuses? TC: There ain’t a lot of minuses there. The only takeaway someone could say is that he’s slow on his feet, but I don’t think he cares. He fights to the level of his competition, so when we share the ring, I think we’ll get the best version of Canelo Alvarez we’ve seen in years. But we’ll also see the best version of Terence Crawford that we’ve ever seen, and that makes for a great fight. The Ring: What’s the best version of Canelo you’ve ever seen? TC: Man, I’ve seen him against a lot of fighters. When he fought [Austin] Trout, that was a helluva performance. When he fought Caleb Plant, [Miguel] Cotto, GGG. Those were all great performances, but I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about our fight and what we got coming up.
physically and mentally, at a specific weight? We’re going to do our due diligence and work out what weight to come in on fight night. The Ring: You made a point of there being no rehydration clause for this fight. Why was that important to you? TC: I don’t want no excuses. Looking back at my whole career, there’s always been excuses about why I beat this guy or that guy. This guy wasn’t in his prime or some type of excuse. I just want to prove to the world that I am great! The Ring: We know that Canelo will be much bigger on fight night. What do you do that negates that advantage? TC: I just believe in myself and my abilities. I will go out there and be myself. I know who I am internally. I know what I can do. It don’t matter
The Ring: You’re moving up two weight classes from where you last performed to fight Canelo. Can you think of a similar weight jump in boxing history that you would compare this to? TC: I can’t compare it to nuthin’ because I haven’t been in the ring at 168. We shall see. The Ring: Bernard Hopkins going up two weight classes to beat Antonio Tarver came into my mind, but Hopkins had been a career- middleweight before moving to light heavy, so that’s different. The only fight I could think of in the modern era that’s kind of close is Oleksandr Usyk fighting Tyson Fury. I know they’re in the same division, but Fury had huge physical advantages in a fight where
Ricky Burns hadn ’ t lost in seven years before Crawford outpointed him in 2014.
in recent years. He’s now a double undisputed world champion and a pound-for-pound great, so you don’t tell this man what he can and can’t do. He’s already proven that he’s special. Now Terence Crawford stands ready to prove that he’s even better than that. The Ring: Before we discuss Mr. Alvarez, I just want to tap into something that has been brought up during the press tour. There was talk about what represents an elite opponent and you mentioned Ricky Burns, for which you received a lot of pushback. I know just how good Ricky Burns was, but can you shed some light on why you regard him so highly? Terence Crawford: Listen,
division, but they don’t give him no credit. I think that’s very disrespectful. He may have had some losses, but that don’t take away his accolades. The Ring: Well said! What was the reaction from your family and your team when you said you wanted to fight Canelo Alvarez? TC: My team believe in anything I believe in. They know me inside and out, and they know how I prepare for a fight. My family was like, “Hey, if that’s what you want to do, then just be careful.” That was it and we’re here now. There’s always a conversation [when it comes to challenges]. What do my team think? What do my family think?
one motivator for you and why? TC: My number one motivation is winning. It’s not about the payday, it’s not about the belts, it’s about what comes with winning this fight. Everything else is an extra. Obviously the payday and the belts are great, but this will solidify me as a three-division undisputed world champion. At the same time, to beat an all-time great like Canelo in his weight class, with no stipulations [regarding weight or rehydration clauses], it don’t get no bigger than that.
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