John Ryder says Canelo Alvarez will stay in tight on Terence Crawford, force him to fight in close, and win a close decision on September 13th.

Ryder fought Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs) in 2023 and lost a wide 12-round unanimous decision. However, he wasn’t a mover on Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), but he still knows that Alvarez’s pressure will force Bud to fight him at close range.

Canelo’s in-close fighting style

“You’re going to see Canelo sit in tight on Crawford, not give him the space, block him side to side, and very much work up close,” said John Ryder to Fight Hub TV about what he believes Canelo Alvarez will do against Terence Crawford to defeat him on September 13th.

A ‘boring’ Mayweather-like performance

Crawford will have had an entire training camp to work on preventing Canelo from fighting in close by moving, changing angles, and tying him up. It’s going to be a Jerry-like performance that will be boring for fans who like action, and a dream for the people who like to see the old Mayweather style.

Turki Alalshikh might be happy to see Crawford win at all costs, but he’ll be furious to read the criticism from fans afterward. People expect to be entertained nowadays, and they don’t enjoy watching moving, clinching, and jabbing all night like they used to during the pre-internet days.

“Don’t give Crawford space to move. Don’t give him leverage for his long shots. Crawford can be dangerous with the leverage, the movement, and the switching stances,” said Ryder. “But I think Canelo is going to sit tight on him, sit on his chest. He’s going to use good head movement, good rolling, and good catch counters to break him down.”

Alvarez will have to put more pressure on Crawford than he did against his last opponent, William Scull, if he wants to stay on his chest all night. We already know from what Terence’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, is saying that he’s going to stay on the move, use the in-and-out style that Dmitry Bivol used. BoMac said they were going to follow the Bivol and Floyd Mayweather Jr. blueprint to defeat Canelo, which means using movement, jabbing, and holding.

“I think it’s going to be a points win. I think Canelo will win, but not by the biggest of margins. But if Crawford comes in and turns the event on its head and wins on points, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Ryder.

The older, lazy Alvarez wins

A younger version of Canelo would win a wide decision or more likely knock out Crawford. But the older, lazy Alvarez that we’ve seen since 2022 will win 8-4. He’ll still dominate the smaller, weaker, and older Crawford, but it won’t be a shutout.

Now, if Crawford fought some of the younger super middleweights, like Diego Pacheco, Osleys Iglesias, or Christian Mbilli, he’d be knocked out. Those guys have too much size and power for him. They wouldn’t let him up like Canelo.

“He’s that kind of talent that could do it. He’s a great fighter. He’s not dancing to his tune. He’s going to rip up the script and do what he has to do. I’m excited to watch it as a fan and enjoy the night,” said Ryder about Crawford.

Terence didn’t look great in his last fight against Israil Madrimov a year ago, and he was fortunate to get the nod by the three judges. That fight showed that now that Crawford is fighting at his actual weight, he’s not able to dominate like he’d been doing when he was bigger than his opponents at 147, 140, and 135.