Terence Crawford says his advantage in speed and reach could prove pivotal after once again calling for a clash with Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford was ringside at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to witness Canelo retain his unified super middleweight titles, dropping Edgar Berlanga on route to a unanimous decision victory.
The 36-year-old, who won the WBA super welterweight world title with victory over Israil Madrimov in August, would have to move up two weight classes to challenge the Mexican legend.
Despite conceding that he would be giving up size to face Alvarez, ‘Bud’ insists this would be nothing new for him.
“I understand Canelo’s bigger than me,” Crawford told TMZ Sports.
“But I’m up for the challenge.
“His punching power and physical size is the only thing that I have to worry about, but who knows?
“Once we get in the ring, we don’t know how I’ll handle his punching power, his size.
“I’ve been fighting bigger guys my whole life so I’m pretty familiar with that aspect.
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“Canelo and me are the same height.
“I’ve got a longer reach than Canelo, I’m faster than Canelo, but Canelo is bigger than me, he is stronger than me.
“We’re both giving away something, but we’re both gaining something at the same time.”
Asked how a fight would play out, he added: “Of course I’d beat him.
“It ain’t no doubt in my mind that I won’t beat anyone that I step in the ring with.”
After the bout, the Omaha native made his way over to the Sphere to watch UFC 306 and was sat alongside Saudi Arabia boxing chief, Turki Alalshikh.
Alalshikh approached Alvarez for a meeting about a Crawford match-up prior to his bout with Berlanga, but the Mexican said he would not be holding any conversations until after the fight.
Canelo refused to be drawn into discussing a showdown with Crawford in his post-fight press conference, but with his seeming lack of interest in a highly-anticipated clash with David Benavidez, a meeting with ‘Bud’ could be his most lucrative option.
