Pacquiao to Crawford on the Struggle of Climbing Weight Divisions

“It’s not easy moving up, (weight divisions)” said the legendary eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao, when asked what he thinks about Terrence Crawford wanting to fight Canelo Alvarez by moving up to the super middleweight division.

This is a significant jump for Crawford, as he will be competing in a higher-weight class against one of the best fighters in that division. Earlier this year, the match is finally confirmed as part of Alvarez’s four-fight deal with Riyadh Season.

Canelo’s first fight this year will be against William Scull on May 3, 2025. This came out after Alvarez turned down a fight with YouTube Star Jake Paul. Then, also in January, Coach Bernie “The Boxer” Davies said the Crawford-Canelo fight would happen on September 13th.

In an interview with Fight Hype, Bernie said, “It’s on, baby. September 13th, look forward to it. Crawford vs. Canelo. As I said, Crawford vs. Canelo. Yeah, it’s confirmed—Crawford vs. Canelo, not the other way around.

“Again, we have a lot of disadvantages in this fight as far as weight, as far as power, and a lot of things on par as far as accomplishments and skills-set. We will climb that mountain.”

So, Pac-Man talking about how it’s not easy moving up is already something that Crawford’s team has been acknowledging, and they’re willing to get on top of that.

Pacquiao’s Ability to Move Weight Divisions

It feels like a lifetime ago when Pacquiao was everyone’s favourite. Whenever he’s about to get in the ring, people flock to a betting site online to place their bets on him.

He’s had a legendary career with numerous significant victories, including his fight with Oscar De La Hoya in 2008 when he, despite just having moved up to welterweight, dominated the fight and forced “The Golen Boy” to surrender in the eighth round.

He went on fighting and winning over other big names during his peak, like Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton (light welterweight), and Antonio Margarito (super welterweight).

In 2015, one of his most anticipated fights finally happened, and it was with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The event took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and unfortunately for the Pac, the Pretty Boy was not ready to end his winning streak.

Many have speculated since then that Pacquiao might retire after the disappointing Mayweather fight. However, he’s still had notable matches despite no longer moving up or down in the welterweight divisions. In 2016, he fought Timothy Bradley III and Jessie Vargas and won both unanimously. He won two more matches against Lucas Matthysse and Adrien Broner in 2018 and 2019.

This welterweight streak was probably when he felt he could push things further since he decided to take on Keith Thurman’s WBA Super Welterweight title. He was able to after a split decision, but that must have taken so much from him, moving back and forth between weight divisions.

It was the same year when the man and his fans mostly figured it was a good time for him to retire. This was after he lost his match against Yordenis Ugás. Pacquiao admitted that he had difficulty adjusting to Ugás’ style and mentioned that his legs felt tight, which affected his movement.

However, it’s pure speculation that his loss to this 2021 fight catalysed his retirement. According to him and his team, this decision came so he could focus on his political aspirations. He became a senator from 2016 to 2022 and ran for the presidency of the Philippines in 2022. This year, he’s expressed his interest in returning not to the ring but to the Senate office.

Crawford is More than Willing

Coach Davies continued to talk about how Canelo won’t be an easy fight. He said, “The guy is bigger and has much experience… Nothing ever comes easy to us. We never got Pacquiao or a guy our size with the global impact that he has. They made sure they stayed away from us. It’s not different.”

“We take on tough challengers, and we beat them. So, they give us Canelo Alvarez, a hard puncher [with] an IQ of just the same calibre and a legend. Those are the only challenges Crawford looked for, and it was only right.”

He also said he deserves the challenge to be on the big stage in a “mega-fight in super fight.” It will be another David vs Goliath battle, and true enough, it will be a big win if Crawford succeeds.