Turki Alalshikh’s Pivotal Move Gives Terence Crawford Edge Over Canelo Alvarez in $200M Superfight
Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford are set to face off in one of the biggest boxing fights in recent memory exactly one month from now, on September 13, in Las Vegas.
The boxing world has been buzzing with predictions and analysis for almost a year now, but few voices carry more weight than Amir Khan’s. The British boxing star, who faced and lost to both Canelo and Crawford during his career, isn’t just offering a winner prediction this time.
He’s also pointing to how His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, a key figure in organizing the bout, may have inadvertently played a major role in shaping the outcome of the match.
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While Khan had already shared his prediction for the massive $200 million superfight earlier this year, he elaborated further on the fight during his recent appearance on The PorterWay Podcast. “Crawford is a different type of fighter who holds muscle well, and who will put size on,” Khan said. He explained that with the extended preparation time that the Omaha native received, adjusting to the higher weight may not be as difficult as many have been predicting. “See Turki Alalshikh’s given him so much time, so much notice, so he can go in training camp, so he can combine that muscle, so he can hold that muscle, so he can start doing the heavy weights and everything,” Khan noted, implying that the year-long preparation window has likely allowed the 37-year-old to add size and strength more effectively.
Former world champion Shawn Porter, responding to Khan’s point, emphasized the difference between adding muscle strategically and simply bulking up. “A whole year to put on this kind of weight and again, like you’re saying, you are referring to the muscle. You got to understand when you are moving up weight classes, it’s how you move up. And obviously, moving up weight and putting on muscle to move up in weight is much different than just coming in as a blown-up fighter,” Porter explained.
To that, the 34-6 boxer agreed and also highlighted the timing difference between the two fighters’ preparations for each other. Canelo Alvarez is returning to the ring just four months after his victory over Cuban boxer William Schull in Riyadh, while Terence Crawford will be fighting a full year after his win over Israil Madrimov. Khan believes that the gap will prove advantageous for the two-division undisputed champion. “I think with one year notice, if you look at Crawford, since when the fight was announced, I think he has always been ticking over. He has always been doing a little bit in the gym, and now he is at it and now he is going in it hard,” Khan emphasized.
Pointing again to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s role in setting the schedule, the British former champion claimed, “I think Crawford’s been giving more to this and been training longer and harder than Canelo. I saw that Canelo [was] on a holiday when Crawford was in the gym. So them little small things make a big difference.” His comments suggest that while Canelo Alvarez may have stayed active in the ring, Crawford’s longer, more consistent preparation could be a deciding factor.
If that wasn’t enough, Amir Khan went further in assessing their mental and physical edges. “Though he [Canelo] has kept himself busy, but one thing about Crawford, bro, you can’t turn a blind eye. I mean, he is one of the type of guys that always pulls it off. That’s why he is undefeated… I just feel like Crawford has more left in him and has more to give because he has never tasted defeat before.” And that’s just one of the many reasons Amir Khan believes Canelo Alvarez would be wise not to underestimate his opponent on fight night.
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Expanding on his point during the same podcast, Khan said, “Back in the day, when we used to see Crawford fight at lightweight or featherweight, we did not really give him that respect for power. We thought he was a good boxer, a technical fighter. But later, you can see he’s carried that power with the weight and the muscle.”
Khan pointed out that Crawford’s move into higher weight classes has only amplified his punching power, turning him into a more complete and dangerous fighter. “It’s a hard fight to call honestly because it just depends what type of fighters show up on the night,” Khan admitted to Shawn Porter, underlining that both men are capable of delivering top performances when at their best.
The British star also painted a vivid picture of Crawford’s physical presence, saying, “When he walks around weighing 170 or 175 pounds, he looks like a natural 175 guy.” For this reason, when the fight was announced, Khan immediately felt that Crawford would give Canelo Alvarez “a hell of a fight.” And while Khan believes the Nebraskan southpaw will likely win, even if he doesn’t, he seems confident in knowing exactly what it would take to beat Canelo.
