Joel Diaz: It’s “Stupid” To Think Crawford Beats Canelo

Trainer Joel Diaz says he doesn’t believe that Terence Crawford will be able to take Canelo Alvarez’s punches without wilting in their ‘Fight of the Century’ on September 13th. He states that the naturally bigger fighter, Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs), will be able to take the punches from Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), but he won’t be able to handle his in return.

The two weight classes that Crawford, 37, will be moving up to challenge Canelo for his undisputed championship at 168 will be too much. Diaz notes that Crawford couldn’t do “nothing” in moving up from 147 to 154 to challenge Israil Madrimov for his WBA junior middleweight title on August 3, 2024.

Fans’ “Stupid” Crawford Belief

Now, Terence is moving up two weight classes to fight Canelo at super middleweight, and it’s going to have a worse outcome. Crawford can’t count on the judges to bail him out like they did against Madrimov because he’s not the A-side this time.

“A lot of people say Crawford can beat Canelo no problem. I respect that, but I just think they’re stupid,” said trainer Joel Diaz to AgainsttheRopes. “The size difference of a bigger man changes everything with one punch, and I can see the same thing.”

Mayweather Blueprint Won’t Work

The best that Crawford can hope for with his size, power, and experience disadvantage is to follow the Mayweather and Erislandy Lara blueprint to outbox Canelo. Even then, he would need to count on the judges giving weight to his lighter punches vs. Canelo’s much harder, cleaner shots.

They gave Mayweather credit, but that was years ago, in 2013. Crawford is older, slower, and doesn’t have the popularity that Floyd had when he fought Alvarez. He won’t have a catchweight to weaken Canelo the way Mayweather did in their 152-lb fight, and he’s facing a stronger version of the Mexican star. Floyd didn’t fight the 2025 version. If he did, he’d have been forced to run around the ring more and use a lot of holding.

Madrimov Fight Comparison

“You saw Canelo Alvarez fighting Amir Khan. Look at this. Terence Crawford moved from 147 to 154 to fight [Israil] Madrimov. What did he do to Madrimov? Nothing,” said Diaz. “Israil Madrimov is a 154-pounder. Now to move up to 168, that’s two more divisions.”

Canelo is more powerful and aggressive than Madrimov. He won’t waste time using all the endless feints that Madrimov utilized. He undermined his chances of winning the fight by using too many feints and not using his natural size, power, and youth advantage to pile up a big lead over Terence in the first half. Madrimov could have easily done that if he’d fought more aggressively.

Canelo Withstood GGG Punches

“Canelo Alvarez will take any punch from Crawford, but I don’t think Crawford will take any punch from Canelo. Remember, Canelo got hit by GGG, the heaviest hitter in that division [middleweight], and Canelo took those shots like a champ. I don’t think Crawford has anything to beat Canelo,” said Diaz.

If Canelo connects with the kind of shots that he was hitting William Scull and Edgar Berlanga with in his last two fights, Crawford will have a difficult time taking them. Whatever fight that’s in him, it may disappear. We know Crawford is known for being a competitor, but if he gets hit, he’ll box out of self-preservation. Once he does that, any chance he had of winning will be down the drain.