The biggest fight of the year—Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez—is still over five months away, but the hype is already building. Two legendary four-division champions, both former undisputed kings, are set to collide in what promises to be a blockbuster showdown. But before that, the 62-2-2, 39 KO boxer has business to handle. On May 2 in Saudi Arabia, he’ll be looking to reclaim the IBF super middleweight belt against massive underdog William Scull. A win would once again make him the undisputed champ at 168 pounds. Meanwhile, Nebraska’s Terence Crawford is on a mission of his own—jumping up two weight classes while keeping his razor-sharp skills intact.

Like the rest of us, Sebastian Fundora has already chosen a side in this epic matchup. But before we get to that, he’s got his own fight to focus on. Fundora is set to defend all his belts in his first fight of 2025 against Chordale Booker in a few hours. After edging out Tim Tszyu in a split decision last year, Fundora is riding high on confidence. But he’ll need to be sharp—Booker is coming in hot off a third-round TKO against Brian Damian Chaves. Fundora believes in his skills, no doubt. But what about his prediction game? Is he as sharp with fight picks as he is in the ring? Let’s find out.

Canelo Alvarez: Right at home at 168 lbs

A few hours ago, Fight Hub TV dropped a post on Instagram, where Sebastian Fundora made his stance crystal clear: “I’ve Canelo [Alvarez],” he said. His reasoning? Simple. “Canelo’s more comfortable at 168 lbs.” And honestly, why wouldn’t he be? Ever since dominating Callum Smith in 2020, the 34-year-old has practically owned the super middleweight division, aside from that one loss to unified light heavyweight champ Dmitry Bivol.

The Towering Inferno firmly believed Canelo would have no trouble reclaiming another unified title at 168. After all, this is the same division where he’s been fighting—and winning—for years. The 27-year-old, “So, this is nothing uncomfortable to him.”

However, that doesn’t rule out the fact that Terence Crawford is nothing in front of the Guadalajara native. “Terence Crawford is a great fighter,” he acknowledged. Not just that. He also gave Bud Crawford credit for packing on more than 10 pounds to compete at super middleweight for the September fight. And from the looks of it, gaining that weight hasn’t been a struggle—Dmitry Bivol himself recently confirmed that Crawford looks buffed up and naturally filled out at 168. “He can probably make at 168 naturally,” the 21-1, 13 KO boxer admitted.

But here’s the catch—weight classes exist for a reason. “But again, it’s a different division. 147 and 168. Two different divisions,” he pointed out. While he respects the Nebraskan southpaw’s skills and power, Fundora is banking on Canelo’s natural size advantage to be the difference-maker.

Top Comment by Ralph Garcia

Crawford is better than Mayweather hands down at the same game. Canelo is a bit slow and that’s gonna be...more

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However, not everyone agrees with Fundora. Enter Ronnie Shields—World Boxing Hall of Fame’s 2003 Trainer of the Year and current coach of light heavyweight contender David Morrell. Let’s just say he has a very different take on how this fight might go down.

Mayweather’s strategy holds the key for Terence Crawford

In an interview with FightHype, veteran trainer Ronnie Shields broke down why Terence Crawford can absolutely hold his own against Canelo Alvarez at 168 lbs. While many in the boxing world are worried about Bud Crawford moving up in weight, Shields isn’t buying it. “It’s not about power. It’s about skills,” he said.

According to Shields, the 41-0, 31 KO boxer has the ring IQ to compete at any weight. He compared it to Floyd Mayweather’s approach against Canelo Alvarez back in 2013. Perfect footwork, staying one step ahead, and forcing Canelo to constantly reset. “Floyd kept stepping around him… Boom! Boom! Boom! Step around. That was it.” And Shields believed Bud Crawford would take notes from that fight and execute a similar strategy.

As for weight? Shields isn’t concerned. The key to victory? Float like a butterfly, and don’t try to trade power shots with Canelo Alvarez. As plain as that. Shields summed it up best: “It’s not about being macho. It’s about being smart.”

With that said, do you agree with Sebastian Fundora’s prediction? Do share your thoughts with us below.