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Jon Anik thinks there’s more pressure on Canelo Alvarez than Terence Crawford heading into their mega boxing match.
Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) puts his undisputed super middleweight title on the line against the undefeated Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) Saturday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Anik, the UFC’s play-by-play voice, will lead the broadcast team for the “Fight of the Century” between Canelo and Crawford. He will be joined by boxing sportscaster Max Kellerman and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward.
“Canelo Alvarez is the 2-1 favorite,” Anik told MMA Junkie Radio. “He is naturally the bigger man even if he is relinquishing a couple of inches in reach. Bud Crawford has never competed above 154 pounds – never mind at 160. And he’s moving up to 168, and Terrance Crawford while being the undefeated fighter is the betting underdog.
“So, I know when other people have been pro, they have fallen on a different side of this argument. But, in a matchup of first-ballot Hall of Famers, still in my humble opinion pretty close to their fighting primes, the bigger man who’s the 2-1 favorite definitely has more to lose, and I think he knows it.”
Anik argues that Crawford’s strength of schedule isn’t comparable to Canelo’s, but he doesn’t see too much left for the undefeated fighter to do should he win.
“I think the Mount Rushmore issue is just unlike Michael Jordan and Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. In boxing, you’re dealing with hundreds of fighters across double-digit weight classes,” Anik said. “I was talking to Tom Gerbasi, our UFC researcher and boxing Hall of Famer, earlier today as part of my preparation, and he’s saying, ‘Oh, both top-ballot Hall of Famers, both top 100.’ Top 100? ‘Bud’ Crawford, depending on who you ask, is fighting for top 15-20 status all time or maybe even top three that some people would absolutely scoff at. So, in terms of all-time greatness, beauty is really in the eye of the beholder.”
