Brian McIntyre believed Terence Crawford could defeat Canelo Alvarez years before the fight was ever realistic. The size difference didn’t concern him nearly as much as it concerned everyone else.
“I told [him], I said, ‘You could beat that dude, man,’ because he didn’t look that tall,” McIntyre told Brian Custer on his channel. “Bud handle anybody just about the same size as him. Canelo was just wider, and that’s it. But, I mean, his boxing IQ was just up there to where I knew back then he could beat him, and I knew now he can beat him.”
McIntyre was looking beyond Canelo’s reputation. Alvarez had collected championships across four divisions, but his career was also shrewdly guided. The biggest risk wasn’t always the one his team selected.
Gennadiy Golovkin spent years pursuing Canelo before finally getting him in the ring at 35. Their first fight ended in a controversial draw, with many observers believing Golovkin deserved the decision.
Canelo’s 2019 move to light heavyweight provided another example. He challenged 36-year-old Sergey Kovalev for the WBO title rather than Artur Beterbiev, who held the WBC and IBF belts after stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
The same criticism followed Canelo at 168. Jaime Munguia, Edgar Berlanga and William Scull received fights while more dangerous younger contenders remained outside his schedule.
That history provides some perspective on Crawford’s accomplishment. Canelo had spent much of his career operating from a position where his team could choose the opponent and timing. Crawford stepped into that environment. He took away the advantages careful matchmaking had helped preserve.
McIntyre had seen through the aura years earlier. Once Crawford finally got the opportunity, Canelo proved to be the fighter BoMac had always believed his pupil could solve.
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Last Updated on 2026/08/10 at 2:47 PM
