On September 13, Canelo Alvarez will try to record a new career that defines a victory.
Terence Crawford has had his next opponent in his visor for some time while he kept moving through the weight classes with remarkable success.
While Crawford suffered various setbacks in his amateur career, 'Bud' has a perfect 41-0 pro-record that comes in the biggest fight of his career.
The same cannot be said for his opponent who has been beaten twice on the score cards by two incredible technicians.
The only man who was confronted with both Canelo and Crawford shared his thoughts about the matchup, just like the last man who is victorious against the Mexican star.
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Dmitry Bivol says that Terence Crawford must be mental trust in his ability to compete in super middleweight
In an interview with Ring Magazine in February, Dmitry Bivol shared his first thoughts about Canelo Alvarez against Terence Crawford on September 13.
Bivol is the last man who beats the Mexican superstar, who was convincingly won through the score cards when they met in May 2022.
That matchup saw that Canelo was the smaller opponent when he looked at it to achieve more success in light heavyweight before he returned to super middleweight.
Although Bivol takes into account many different factors, he is of the opinion that Crawford is able to do the job.
“He is one of my favorite boxers. He can win this fight, but there are many buts. There are many small things that we don't know how to deal with this.”
Of course, much of the conversation about this fight will be about how Crawford will adapt to the move to meet Canelo, but Bivol believes that there is more to this than just physicality.
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He thinks that although 'Bud' has the framework to make this movement, it is the mental side of feeling comfortable with super middleweight that could define for him.
“It is not only about getting used to the power, it is also about being mentally ready. When people are not mentally prepared, they are scared or scared, you get weak. Your body becomes weak. If something happens and it is something new and you are not ready for it, we know this feeling. The body starts to melt, you know that it knows? Mentality is very important for this fight.”
Dmitry Bivol believes that everything should come together for the super middleweight movement of Terence Crawford
As he said about the opportunities of Terence Crawford to win, Dmitry Bivol believes that on 13 September there are many unanswered questions that will be crucial.
One thing he does not doubt is Crawford's heart and desire to draw what a really remarkable achievement would be to go to super middle weight and beat Canelo Alvarez.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty images for Netflix
Bivol said that the biggest challenge that is awaiting 'Bud', all those boxes is ticking up, so that when he gets in the ring on Fight Night, he is fully confident in his ability to match his opponent, instead of being in the disadvantage because of the move.
“He is mentally strong and he wants this fight from the core, how I see it … We can not only say mentality or only sparring partners to get used to this weight. This is the combination of everything.
“He has to spar with bigger boys. He has to get bumps. He must be convinced that he is in order with these punches. He must be convinced that he will be in the ring and he could get these bumps from Canelo and he will be good with this.”