Former multi-division world champion Mikey Garcia says he's not a fan of Terence Crawford moving up two weight classes to challenge Canelo Alvarez for three super middleweight belts.

Mikey feels that fighting the heavier and more powerful Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is too much for Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) after his most recent 154 loss against Israel Madrimov last August. He thinks Crawford should stay at 154 and consolidate against other champions.

He believes he probably won't because fighting other belt holders at junior middleweight means nothing compared to what he could get fighting Canelo. Mikey says the Canelo-Crawford fight is a “big fight” because it will bring in “money,” but it's not a great one because of the size mismatch.

Mikey suspects Crawford

Crawford didn't show much power against Madrimov and was uncomfortable taking right hands from him.

“Canelo is fighting at 168. Crawford just moved up to 154, and he had some trouble in that fight,” Mikey Garcia said. Fight Hub TVTerence Crawford is refusing a fight against unified three-belt super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. “Now, where do you plan to go? 164, 165 or 166? Canelos is not going to go down to 160. He will go down to 166 if he accepts.

“I think Canelo will win that fight just based on power and size. Skill-wise, I think Crawford is the better-skilled fighter, but the size difference will be the deciding factor. That's why I'm not a fan of that fight. I think Crawford accomplished everything he set out to do.

“From 140 to 147, and now 154. It's even great for him. If he wants to do something. Collect the belt at 154. He can try it, but it means nothing compared to the Canelo fight. Canelo is trying to fight other guys,” Garcia said.

Crawford's payday

Crawford obviously wants to fight Canelo for the money and that's the only reason. If it were about legacy, Crawford would move up to 160 to fight the champions in that weight class first, but he's not doing that because neither of them are stars.

No money to get Crawford. He wants it, and fighting Canelo will pay him that. Turki al-Sheikh is to be thanked for that because he is the one who made it possible. If not for him, Canelo wouldn't bother fighting Crawford.

“At the time, it's a big fight for the money it's going to make,” Mikey said of the Canelo vs. Crawford clash. “But as a fight fan, I'm not a fan of that matchmaking. I'd rather see Canelo step up and fight Betterby or Bivol again.” Want to see him fight. If he wants to challenge himself, go up to 175 and challenge those guys. A smaller guy is not going up (Crawford).

Canelo likely won't move above TP 175 unless Dmitry Bival captures the undisputed light heavyweight championship in his rematch with Artur Beterbiev on February 22nd. If Bivol wins that fight, Canelo may be interested in moving up in weight for the rematch as it would allow him to try and become the undisputed two-division champion.

Also, the money Canelo will receive for that fight will be huge. If Alvarez loses to Bivol again, the reaction will be minimal as he continues to move up in weight against a bigger man. With Bivol being a fine-level fighter, there is little to worry about for Canelo to fight him if Beterbiev wins on February 22nd.

Stay at 154

“Same thing with Crawford. He doesn't need to step up to fight Canelo. He can fight guys at 154,” Mickey said.

Crawford will likely only be interested in fighting WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fondora for his belt at 154 because it's a fight where he doesn't have to worry as much about getting knocked out. If Crawford were to challenge IBF champion Bakhram Murtzaliev or WBC interim champion Virgil Ortiz Jr., he could be stopped.

Those guys are younger and stronger than him. They will soon be looking to add the 38-year-old Crawford's scalp to their collection. It would be a great trophy.