Jones Jr.: Canelo has to prove himself against Crawford at 168

Roy Jones Jr. says Canelo Alvarez needs to prove he can beat Terence Crawford when he moves up to 168, but not the other way around.

Canelo has not said if he will fight Crawford and it may come down to whether His Excellency Turki Alalshikh can negotiate the fight. After Crawford's last performance against Israil Madrimov and the lackluster PPV titles, it is questionable whether Turki will pursue the Canelo-Crawford fight.

Crawford's unbeaten record speaks for itself

Former four-weight world champion Jones Jr. says Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has never been beaten and is moving up in his weight class, so he would have a chance to defeat unified super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) depending on his game strategy.

Roy says Crawford's problems cannot be dismissed solely because of the difficulties he had in his 154-class debut against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov last month, facing a fighter from Uzbekistan with skills similar to those of Vasily Lomachenko.

It looked like Crawford was struggling not only with his skills but also with Madrimov's power. Crawford's power at 147 was not enough for 154 and he was forced to use his jab to win the fight.

It was still a close call, with Madrimov landing the better punches in each round, but the judges gave the win to Crawford because he worked harder in the final four rounds.

“You can't resist Crawford until someone hits him. As long as he puts on weight, nobody's going to hit him,” Roy Jones Jr. said on the YouTube channel Fighthype when asked if Terence Crawford could beat Canelo Alvarez in the 168 class.

Someone could probably beat Crawford if they were willing to face other guys in the 154, 160, or 168 weight class. If you put Crawford in a fight with David Benavidez, David Morrell, or Christian Mbilli, one or more fighters could beat him, giving Canelo a reason to say no to Crawford.

Of course, Crawford is not unbeatable, but it can be said that he is cautious and does not want to put himself under further pressure. He will simply wait and see if Canelo gives him the fight, which is seen as a strategic move by Crawford.

“If they cut him down to 147 or 140 pounds, they might have a chance because that's going to take more out of you than if you put the weight on,” Jones said of Craword. “As long as he's gaining weight, the sky's the limit for Bud. Canelo is a tough guy, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying he's going to beat Canelo, but Canelo is going to have to beat him.”

Crawford could still beat anyone if he focused on the 147 and 140 weight classes given the lack of competition, but since he's fixated on money, he won't try his luck.

“He doesn’t have to beat Canelo. Canelo has to beat him,” Jones said with his cryptic remark/

It's unclear what Jones Jr. means when he says Canelo needs to beat Crawford and not the other way around. It almost sounds like doublespeak when he says he believes Crawford would have the upper hand, which doesn't make sense when you consider his weight, recent performance and advanced age.

“I wasn't surprised at all because Madrimov is one of those guys with an exceptional amateur background. These fighters from Uzbekistan are some of the best fighters in the world title game,” Jones Jr. said when asked if he was surprised by how much trouble Crawford had against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3.

Madrimov's success against Crawford had nothing to do with his background, but rather with power, size, youth and willingness to throw right hooks. He could have been American and had the same success against Crawford.

“They and Kazakhstan have probably won more medals in the Olympics lately than the Russians, Americans and Cubans because their technique is so solid,” Jones Jr. said. “So when you see a guy from that part of the world, you have to know that these guys are not to be trifled with.”

There are some great fighters from Eastern Europe, but Madrimov didn't put up a great fight and definitely didn't look like Lomachenko did against Crawford. Madrimov landed because Crawford tried to wrestle him down, and he took advantage of his aggressiveness to hit him with right hooks.

If Madrimov had fought harder in rounds 10-12, he would have won, but it looked like he lost his nerve when Crawford went on the attack. If he had fought like “Little GGG,” Crawford would have been in trouble down the stretch.

“This guy [Madrimov] was 10-0 back then and look how much trouble he gave Bud. You have to remember that these are guys like Lomachenko now. That's not normal,” Jones Jr. said.

“Who says he doesn't have a chance? Why doesn't he have a chance?” Jones said of Crawford's chances of beating Canelo. “The outcome of the fight depends on how Canelo fights him.”

Crawford would have a chance against Canelo if he followed Mayweather's blueprint by throwing jabs, moves, low blows and clinching wherever he could get close. That would be very boring for fans who prefer to see action and entertainment, but people who want to see pure boxing would be delighted if Crawford embodied Floyd's blueprint.

“The fight will depend on Canelo's approach because if he takes the wrong approach he will lose,” Jones Jr. said. “If he takes the right approach he is almost guaranteed to win, but if he takes the wrong approach he is almost guaranteed to lose.”

Jones isn't really saying anything here. He's sitting on the fence and not telling the fans what he really thinks, but the way he's pumping up Crawford, he seems to think he's going to be victorious against Canelo.

“So for me, it's not about who is the better fighter. It's about who approaches the fight the right way. Canelo is the bigger guy. If he takes the right approach, he should win the fight. If he takes the wrong approach, he will definitely lose the fight,” Jones Jr. said.