Trainer Foresees Crawford’s Early Talent Testing Canelo, but Doubts ‘Bud’ Can Endure Alvarez’s Late-Round Intensity

Wow, so just diving right into the world of boxing predictions — yeah, that’s where we’re going today. Brace yourselves because this is gonna be a wild ride or at least a slightly wobbly stroll through the boxing ring. So, Robert Garcia, a dude who probably knows a thing or two about throwing punches and landing them right, says Terence Crawford is gonna run circles around Canelo Alvarez. At least that’s the plan for the first half of their upcoming, much-buzzed-about fight this September. Imagine winning five or six rounds before the midway point. Nuts, right?

And — side note — why is it always apparently impossible to catch up if someone gets an early lead in boxing? Can’t, like, the tables turn any time? Or am I just daydreaming while watching too many underdog movies? Whatever.

Garcia seems to think if Crawford gets this lead, he’ll do this thing where he jabs and dances around the ring — probably making Canelo pretty annoyed. Sort of like a flashback to that time Floyd Mayweather pulled a similar trick on Canelo back in 2013. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t everyone raving about how Alvarez could punch hard enough to break planets? Seriously, his punches are like BAM! — game over for whoever’s standing on the other end.

But then you got Crawford, whose power — or maybe lack thereof — was on display when he danced up to 154 pounds not too long ago. And the guy’s moving up to 168? Maybe Garcia’s got a point here about this being kinda sketchy for Crawford against Alvarez, who’s all set to unleash at 168.

Here’s Garcia’s advice in a nutshell: “Hey Bud, use your skills. No, seriously, do that whole outside fight thing ’cause you’ve got talents. Just, you know, watch out ‘cause eventually, Canelo will probably figure it out and start closing in.”

Some folks might totally see Canelo pushing all the buttons in the earlier rounds. To them, Crawford, despite his talents, might come off looking like he’s running on fumes against the younger, fresher Canelo. Not to mention, have we forgotten how strong Alvarez has been looking again? I mean, remember Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia? Those guys weren’t jokes, and both went toe-to-toe with Canelo recently and got a properly tough time of it.

Canelo does oddly start to chill a bit in the later rounds, though, which is bonkers to me. Just when you’re supposed to go full throttle, he kinda eases back. If Crawford’s hoping for any redemption, that could be his window. But is he banking on Canelo just staying laid back? Not likely.

But Canelo’s not some pushover. Heck, dude’s been through the middle-of-fight ringer too many times to start second-guessing himself now and just let Bud dance away with it. People might look at him and say, “Yeah, he’s got enough power — and, darn it, skills — to actually put Crawford on the ropes in the tale-end.”

I find it pretty wild, though, how every trainer’s vision seems to weave this big storyline around their fighters’ capabilities. It all feels like a narrative straight out of a Rocky script sometimes, you know? Maybe it’s a fight destined to have Crawford showcase some serious early game. Or maybe Canelo’s planning to just swap narratives, walk in, and be the bold starting gun-blazer.

Folks, we’ve got clever jabs, bulldozing counters, and strategy galore when these two meet in the ring. What’s gonna unfold? Phew, only time — and a bell-dinging arena — will truly tell.