Roy Jones Jr. says he doesn’t see weight as being an advantage for undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in his defense against Terence Crawford on September 13th.

Jones Jr. says it comes down to whether Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) can take Canelo’s punch. He feels that Crawford will have sparred 168 and 175-pounders in preparation for this fight, and won’t have a problem handling Canelo’s power.

Canelo-Crawford: Weight Not Key?

“I pay no attention to the weight issue. What I pay attention to is the skill level both guys show. What I’m seeing is a hungry Crawford, a Crawford that has been looking for an opportunity for a long time,” said Roy Jones Jr. to Fight Hub TV about Terence Crawford getting the chance to fight Canelo Alvarez.

Jones Jr. should pay attention to the weight, because it’s a factor in this fight. Crawford moved up to 154 in his last fight, and he didn’t look great. He hasn’t fought since, and will be coming off a 13-month layoff, and moving up two divisions. Weight and inactivity could be a big problem.

“With Canelo, I see a guy who loves to entertain. He loves to give us big fights. He’s always tried to give us big fights. He’s not always going to win them. If he shows up and does the exact right thing, he can win the fight. If he don’t do the right thing, and I don’t see him doing.”

The last time Canelo lost was against light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol, who was much bigger and stronger. Crawford would lose to Bivol, too. He almost lost to Israil Madrimov. Bivol would be pure trouble for Crawford, and he’s not crazy enough to try moving up to 175 unless Turki Alalshikh offers him a ton of money.

Crawford’s Punch Resistance vs. Canelo

“It’ll all be predicated on whether Terence can take a punch. When you know how to box and you’re as skillful as Crawford is, weight doesn’t matter that much. The only thing that matters with the weight is if he can take the punch. I’m sure he’s been sparring with super middleweights and light heavyweights. I’m sure he can take a punch,” said Jones Jr.

Crawford didn’t look good taking the shots from Israil Madrimov in his debut at 154 a year ago. Now, he’s moving up two divisions to fight Canelo at 168. That’s not good.

Taking a punch in sparring, wearing headgear, and using large 16- to 18-ounce gloves isn’t the same as fighting without those protections for a fighter. We won’t know how well Crawford can handle the power of Canelo until he gets in there.

Crawford should have taken at least one tune-up at 168, but obviously, he wasn’t going to take any chances of losing and having Turki Turki Alalshikh pull the plug on the Canelo fight.