Canelo’s Cherry-Picking Exposed: Why Crawford’s Immediate Title Shot Undermines Boxing Fairness

Terence Crawford bypassing the top contenders in the super middleweight division to be given an immediate title shot against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez brings up the question of fairness and deservedness.

Canelo: Cunning Cherry-Picker?

Fighters like David Benavidez have long campaigned for a fight against Canelo, and have been ignored despite fighting in the same division. For Crawford to jump up 14 lbs to be given a fight against Canelo rather than Benavidez, it looks bad.

You see Canelo as a cunning, calculated cherry-picker. He’s avoiding bigger threats in favor of weaker, smaller, and older fighters like 37-year-old Crawford.

If boxing is to be a sport, fighters should have to earn the right to battle world champions. We’re not seeing that here with Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs).

Broner’s Title Parallel

Although Crawford has moved through four divisions to win world titles, the opposition he has fought to capture those titles has been less than the best. He did defeat Errol Spence at 147, but many believe he was a shell of his former self when that fight took place.

In many ways, Terence’s four-division championships mirror that of Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner, who also captured four-division titles against similarly lackluster opposition. AB drifted through weight classes to capture belts left and right in the same strategic way that Crawford did.

Bud’s Undeserving “Mega-Fight”

Crawford states that he chose Canelo because he missed out on all the “mega-fights” that Canelo got against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, and Gennadiy Golovkin. So, this is his “mega-fight.”

However, that doesn’t mean he deserves to be given a mega-fight because he’s the one who chose to fight in the 135, 140, and 147 divisions, though most of his career, not showing ambition to move up and risk his unbeaten record against those fighters. Those fighters were still in their primes during a large portion of Crawford’s career from 2008 to 2018.

Crawford’s Past Opponents

1. Lightweight [135]

2. Light welterweight [140]

• Thomas Dulorme for vacant WBO
• Viktor Postol for WBC
• Julius Indongo for IBF and WBA

3. Welterweight [147]

• Jeff Horn for WBO
• Errol Spence for IBF, WBA, and WBC

4. Junior middleweight [154]

If you look closely at the fighters Crawford beat, his resume is mediocre, and not what naive fans believe it to be. When they hear that Crawford is a former two-division undisputed and a four-division world champion, they think that means he has beaten great opposition. His record doesn’t show that. It reveals the opposite.

“I asked for Canelo because he’s a great fighter. He has fought [Miguel] Cotto, [Floyd] Mayweather, GGG [Gennady Golovkin]… all mega-fights. And this is my mega-fight, this is my moment, that’s why I asked to face Canelo,” said Terence Crawford.