WHAT I THINK HAPPENED
Just 48 hours ago, Canelo vs. Crawford was off. Then Canelo vs. Jake Paul seemed to be a done deal. And now, Canelo has signed a four-fight deal with Turki Alalshikh that includes Canelo vs. Crawford in September.
It is important to note that Alalshikh does not tell the Ring Magazine writers what specifically to write. He may own the company but provides freedom to the writers.
ShowBizz’ Take: Turki Alalshikh pitched a business plan for Canelo. However, Canelo wanted more. Canelo then discussed with MVP (Most Valuable Promotions) regarding a Jake Paul fight and he said it was a done deal so that reporters could share the news. Consequently, Alalshikh dismantled the Crawford fight. Canelo did not settle back to fighting Crawford and pushed forward with the Jake Paul fight and seeing this Alalshikh lastly decided to return to the drawing board with Canelo, make compromises and make the four-fight deal that is now present. In brief terms, Canelo was a savvy businessman and used the Jake Paul fight offer as leverage in negotiations with Alalshikh.
Shoutout to Canelo for preferring to challenge himself instead of fighting Jake Paul.
The quality of Canelo’s next four fights: Surace/Scull (C-level), Crawford (A-level), Bivol/Beterbiev/Benavidez (A-level) and another Bivol/Beterbiev/Benavidez (A-level) opponent. That is a 3.5 grade point average. That’s good.
Crawford choosing to not take a tune-up fight before Canelo is not good. Crawford might have a strong metabolism and think that having another training camp before Canelo may not allow him to increase his fighting weight effectively.
There is a chance that Crawford feels that he cannot campaign at super middleweight but at the same time thinks he can beat Canelo. That can be why he is not fighting another super middleweight before Canelo.
Canelo is like Gervonta Davis, he doesn’t like getting mad but he fights better when he is mad. Similarly, Crawford is mean like a rattlesnake.
The moment when Canelo and Crawford stare each other down, ShowBizz is going to get goosebumps.
It is incredible that in his career Canelo has fought Mayweather and now is going to fight Crawford.
Is Canelo greater than Mayweather? No, because first of all, his fighting ability is not greater than Mayweather’s.