Vergil Ortiz Jr has shared his verdict on the power of Canelo Alvarez ahead of the Mexican’s huge fight with Terence Crawford.
Canelo is set to make a defence of his undisputed world super-middleweight championship against fellow pound-for-pound star ‘Bud’ Crawford on Saturday September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
‘Bud’ Crawford will make the jump up to 168lbs ahead of his much anticipated showdown with Canelo, last competing at 154 but only for one fight since his undisputed run at 147 before that. Many feel that the bulk and power of Alvarez is too tall a task for the American to overcome in his first fight at super-middleweight.
One fighter that has had seen Canelo up close in the gym is unbeaten super-welterweight contender Ortiz, who has spent some time sparring the Mexican icon in the past.
Speaking on Ring Champs with Ak & Barak, Ortiz went into detail about his experience in sparring Canelo, as he claims the 35-year-old from Guadalajara ‘hits hard’ before also praising his chin.
“That dude’s good, he’s good … He hits hard but he held back, he held back for sure. But the one thing I remember was I set him up for a shot and it worked, I don’t wanna say which one because I don’t want to give away my secrets, but I hit him with like a hard hook.”
Ortiz goes on to predict the ‘mega-fight’, where he admits he doesn’t believe Crawford has what it takes to be victorious.
“I don’t think so [Crawford beats Canelo] and look, hear me out, I respect Crawford and everything that he’s doing but he just moved up from 147 so I’m just gonna treat him as a 147 pounder, he’s jumping up three weight classes to fight someone who was like the number one fighter in all of boxing.”
If he overcomes the toughest test of his career, ‘Bud’ Crawford will become boxing’s first ever male three-weight undisputed world champion.