Moving up two weight classes as a boxer is no mean feat; maintaining a fight-ready physique and improving your athletic performance while doing so is even harder.
As a result, fans have voiced their concerns that Terence Crawford will lose his signature fluid footwork, speed and versatility as a result of the 14lbs he has put on for his upcoming super middleweight clash with Canelo. But his strength and conditioning coach Chet Fortune claims the opposite is true – Bud is only getting better.
“The beauty of the situation is that we have members of our team who are not in camp [all the time] – I’m talking about people like his agent, PR team and photographers, who are only with us at certain points,” Fortune says.
“Everybody that’s seen him recently, whether he’s sparring or doing his boxing work, says it looks like he’s got more speed.”
Crawford agrees. In a promotional documentary series for the fight, he tells Netflix: “Putting on muscle doesn’t mean that you’re going to be slower. But you punch a little harder.”
Below, Fortune explains why super middleweight will suit his fighter, and why he expects to see Crawford’s arm raised come September 13.
Why fighting at 168lbs will suit Terence Crawford, according to his team
It is only natural to assume Canelo has the upper hand going into this fight as far as the weight class is concerned at least. He has been fighting at super middleweight for years, this is the body he is accustomed to using, whereas Crawford has to adapt to a physique that is largely foreign to him.
However, while Bud is now sporting broader shoulders and a more muscular upper body in general, Fortune says the extra 14lbs “isn’t significant enough to slow him down”.
“I think 168lbs is a natural weight for him,” he continues. “To me, he’s not sacrificing a thing. [For the fight] he’s not going to be dehydrated and he’s going to have the muscle mass we expect on his frame [rather than losing muscle in a sharp calorie cut to make weight].
“From a speed perspective, if anything, I think he looks faster at 168lbs than he did when he fought at 154lbs. Everybody we brought into camp has had an opportunity to see him in the ring, whether that be on the pads or the bag work or sparring, and they’ve all said the same thing: ‘How has he increased in size but still looks just as fast, if not faster?’”
Despite only recently adding mass to his frame, Crawford will not look like the smaller fighter in the ring either, according to Fortune. The pair are similar heights, they will come into the fight at the same weight, but Bud has a larger reach.
“Canelo has more experience fighting at this weight, getting hit by guys at this weight and throwing punches at guys this weight,” Fortune says. “But from a genetic standpoint, Bud’s not the smaller guy.”
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Terence Crawford’s training partners past and present provide perfect preparation
Canelo may be more accustomed to fighting at super middleweight in the public eye, but Crawford has accrued plenty of experience in the ring with heavier fighters, albeit behind closed doors.
“What people don’t realise about Bud is that, naturally, his main sparring partners are 168lbs or 175lbs. We’ve done that for a long time,” Fortune explains.
“There’s Steven Nelson who, before he fought Pacheco, was rated in the top 10 of all four federations – he’s naturally a 215lb guy who gets down to 168lbs, so he packs a lot of power.
“Then there’s a lot of other fighters like Lester Martinez. So it’s not like I felt like we needed to change a lot for Canelo.”
Nelson has also had his say on the situation, telling Fighthype: “It’s not like he’s a small guy and he’s putting on a bunch of weight – he’s always been bigger and he’s always had to cut down. The difference for this fight is he won’t have to cut down.
“He’s going to do something that nobody is expecting… He’s always had power, but now it’s a different power. He still has the speed, movement and ability – it’s crazy.”
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