Terence Crawford v Jose Benavidez Jr

[Primo Carnera]

Crawford should win, but if Jose brings the confidence and dislike for Crawford into the ring he can make things interesting. Crawford is very good, so the jump in class may be too much. That being said, Jose is the bigger man and if his chin holds up he can make things uncomfortable for a while. My one hesitation with Crawford is that I haven’t seen him in with an elite fighter his own size. Gambia made him struggle but Crawford’s size advantage combined with his skills eventually proved to be too much.

That’s a fair comment, but is Benavidez an elite fighter? I mean, he’s 27-0 and clearly very good, but.....
I’m pretty big on Crawford, I think he’s one of the very few fighters at the moment who has it all.
My only reservation would be if/when he fights Spence, as he’s too big for him. Which I guess is the same as what you were saying.

[mikeeod]

Crawford should win, but if Jose brings the confidence and dislike for Crawford into the ring he can make things interesting. Crawford is very good, so the jump in class may be too much. That being said, Jose is the bigger man and if his chin holds up he can make things uncomfortable for a while. My one hesitation with Crawford is that I haven’t seen him in with an elite fighter his own size. Gambia made him struggle but Crawford’s size advantage combined with his skills eventually proved to be too much.

That’s a fair comment, but is Benavidez an elite fighter? I mean, he’s 27-0 and clearly very good, but.....
I’m pretty big on Crawford, I think he’s one of the very few fighters at the moment who has it all.
My only reservation would be if/when he fights Spence, as he’s too big for him. Which I guess is the same as what you were saying.

Don’t think Benavidez is an elite fighter and don’t see him beating Crawford. Just think if he can take his punch and maintain his confidence/composure he can make Crawford uncomfortable for a portion of the fight. Crawford has options though and is usually very good at adapting to his opponent so I see him eventually pulling away and dominating the fight. Again, my slight hesitation with this one is how Benavidez is young, bigger, and appears to be coming to force a tough fight. That mixture can prove difficult for Crawford who hasn’t experienced a true dog fight with a big man yet. And yes, I think you and I feel similarly about Spence and Crawford. Think that has the potential to be a great series if Crawford can take Spence’s punch. Those two appear to be the two best of a great division. I am more confident in Spence at this point only because he beat an extremely tough Kell Brook who fought a great fight. Final point: I would advise both to stay away from Porter right now. Think both are better than Shawn, but Porter has that physical style that will make every fight close (like Evander and Tim Bradley), and upsets/bad decisions can derail superfights (as can injuries).