SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 31: TIM BRADLEY PICKS TERENCE CRAWFORD OVER CANELO ALVAREZ EVEN AT 168
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 31 Jan 2024
Terence Crawford has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from lightweight to welterweight, including the undisputed championship at light welterweight and welterweight. Currently, he holds the World Boxing Association (WBA Super), World Boxing Council (WBC), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight titles.
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Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) won the undisputed welterweight titles against Errol Spence Jr. on July 29, 2023, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In front of a sold-out crowd of 19,990, Crawford dominated Spence and won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout, becoming the first undisputed welterweight champion since 2006 and the first male boxer in the four-belt era to seize undisputed title belts in two weight divisions.
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Crawford had beaten Spence 185 to 96 in total punches and 98 to 63 in power punches. Crawford was leading 79–70 in all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage. Crawford and Spence had a rematch clause in their contract.
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The IBF however did not allow Crawford to fight an "optional defense" because they do not recognize rematches as "mandatory defenses" to the title. The IBF elevated Jaron Ennis from interim to the welterweight champion.
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Crawford is not interested in fighting a young dangerous opponent in Ennis (31-0, 20 KOs, 1 NC) and the purse is not that lucrative. At 36-years-old, he wants to end his career with a more remarkable fight and the only fighter that can cement his legacy and earn for him a mega buck deal is Canelo Alvarez. But, Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) is a super middleweight, and that's three weight classes heavier than Crawford.
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Several times, Crawford has said that he would be willing to move up in weight to face the Mexican. On August 10, 2023, Crawford guested on The Breakfast Club and said that he would be open to a catchweight fight with Canelo. “We can do something at a catchweight," Crawford said via DAZN. “Probably, 160 [pounds] or something, 158. Yeah, 158, 160, that would be cool."
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“It’s a tough task for Terence,” Bradley told Fight Hub TV as quoted by Boxing Scene. “But at the same time, I would back him. I would pick Terence Crawford to beat Canelo Alvarez, even at 168.”
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Bradley thinks that his skill level is at par with the greatest. Crawford has good speed, power, timing, and has the toughness to beat Canelo. "He’s one of the smartest guys that I've ever seen in the ring, right up there with Floyd Mayweather.”
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Timothy Bradley Jr. held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC light welterweight title twice between 2008 and 2011, the WBO light welterweight title from 2009 to 2012, and the WBO welterweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.
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Tim Bradley was born Timothy Ray Bradley Jr. at Palm Springs, California, USA. He was called Desert Storm. In October 2013, Bradley was ranked as the world's third-best active boxer, pound for pound, by The Ring magazine. He became popular for his trilogy of fights against Manny Pacquiao, whom he faced in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Bradley was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2023.
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Sports History: January 31, 2018. Houston guard James Harden became the first player in NBA history to register a 60-point triple-double with 60 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals and a block in the Rockets' 114-107 win over Orlando Magic.
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