In short
Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. react to the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight, focusing on key moments (stare-down, early jabs, body shots, late-round control), scoring/round-by-round impressions, and what comes next for both fighters. They also open with the death of Ricky Hatton.
Guests
Andre Ward (former world champion; technical, tactical analysis) and Roy Jones Jr. (former world champion; emphasizes fighter mindset and “alpha” moments).
Key claims
Crawford won by controlling the late rounds after Canelo’s early aggression; the stare-down where Canelo turned away first signaled worry/weakness. Crawford’s early jab and later body work (around rounds 6-8) shifted momentum. Canelo’s post-fight comments showed class; online “robbery/fix” claims are rejected because Crawford didn’t get favorable treatment before.
Notable examples
Hatton vs. Costa Zou (2005) and Hatton vs. Floyd Mayweather (2008); Ward compares face-offs to his own; references Erislandy Lara/Floyd’s “blueprints” for beating Canelo; mentions Oscar De La Hoya vs. Trinidad and Lomachenko vs. Haney.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOTribute to Ricky Hatton
0:45 to 8:25
A heartfelt discussion on the life and legacy of Ricky Hatton after his tragic death.
“We got the news the day after the big fight with Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, September 14th in the early morning.”
Canelo vs. Crawford Fight Analysis
8:29 to 14:02
In-depth analysis of the Canelo vs. Crawford fight, including fighter dynamics and audience reactions.
“I want to get into this experience that we all had this weekend in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium.”
Analyzing Canelo's Weight Cut and Mental State
14:02 to 18:08
Learn about the implications of weight cuts and mental strategies in boxing.
Crawford's Tactical Approach and Early Fight Moments
18:08 to 22:34
Discover how Crawford's early tactics set the stage for his fight performance.
“That adds up in big moments against another real guy.”
Crawford vs Canelo: Round-by-Round Breakdown
22:34 to 27:05
Get detailed insights into the round-by-round dynamics of the fight.
“You know, he's going out, and you know Canelo, if he has you trapped in the corner or along the ropes, it's typically one to two big shots.”
Crawford's Strategy to Secure Victory
27:05 to 28:00
Understand Crawford's strategy to ensure his win and avoid draws.
“Crawford has been fighting for a long time.”
Crawford's Dominant Performance
28:00 to 31:33
Analyzing Crawford's strategy and performance against Canelo.
“I know conventional wisdom is saying you probably up.”
Canelo's Class After Defeat
31:33 to 36:23
Discussion on Canelo's reaction to his loss and respect for Crawford.
“was good to see that but i want to jump and talk about a point that you that you started with about Canelo's class and the way he dealt with that defeat.”
Crawford's Journey and Legacy
36:23 to 42:00
Exploring Crawford's path to success and his place in boxing history.
“Maybe you got to get to him a different type of way instead of just demanding things because a guy like Crawford, you demand things, he going to shut down.”
Canelo Alvarez's Legacy and Future Prospects
42:00 to 43:40
Exploring Canelo Alvarez's career achievements and potential retirement considerations.
“He just kicked that door in and got in that goat status now.”
Show all 13 chapters
Dissecting the Hunger for Competition
43:40 to 47:10
Discussing the importance of hunger and motivation in a boxer's performance.
“Well, it's tough to say because he's made enough money that he can retire.”
Terrence Crawford's Future in Boxing
47:10 to 49:10
Analyzing Terrence Crawford's recent performance and the possibility of retirement.
“We just went up three weight classes since the Spence fight and two weight classes since the Magimaw fight, my last fight.”
The State of Boxing and Its Resilience
49:10 to 50:30
Discussing the state of boxing amidst claims of its decline and its enduring popularity.
“Only thing you had to worry about is once he take that first one and see what that's like, it's a wrap for him.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00What up, it's your boy Roy Jones Jr. I'm hanging out with my man, Andre Ward. We threw Hall of Famers to bring y 'all a new show called A Hall of Game. A show where we discuss boxing, sports, life, and entertainment from our view. How much better than that can you get? Me and Roy don't always agree, but one thing you will get is a Hall of Fame worth a game. Man, we coming off of a tremendous fight weekend. A big day for the sport of boxing. A lot to talk about. But before we get into that, we got to start the show on a bit of a sadder note. Ricky Hatton, nicknamed the hit man from Manchester, England.
0:45We got the news the day after the big fight with Terrence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, September 14th in the early morning. there was a welfare check at the house of Ricky Haddon and his body was found lifeless in that house and there's no signs of foul play and an investigation is still going forth but man Roy what did you think and how did you feel when you got the news about Ricky Haddon? Very heart touching man I had just seen him not long ago I had an event we were all at I think matter of fact it might have been the hall of fame or something like that and you know it was a very tragic situation for me because I've been knowing Ricky for quite some time now and we share a mutual friend and Dennis Hobson who was basically his promoter at one point.
1:33So it's kind of rough for me even feeling bad for Dennis because I know how close he and Dennis were. So yeah, it's a touching situation, but I mean, we lost another good one. We lost another good one and condolences to Ricky Hatton's family. He survived by several children I believe it's one son and two daughters. He also had a grandbaby and his mother and his father still living. So just condolences to the Hatton family. A devastating news. You know, my father died the same age as Ricky at 46 years old. We don't know how he died, but in a similar fashion here today, gone tomorrow. It's devastating to say the least.
2:17The boxing community, if we get nothing right, We know how to rally in these types of situations and moments. And it's been a blessing just seeing everybody from all over the world show love and respect to Ricky and his family and to really just go over his career and start to relive some of his big moments. And I just want to take a moment to talk a little bit about the first time I really started to take notice of Ricky Haddon. I had been watching him and hearing about this guy in England who wasn't always technically sound, but the man was ferocious in his approach. He lived and trained and fought the same way.
2:58He was on go at all times. And when I saw him face Ricky, excuse me, when I saw him face Costa Zoo in 2005 at a sold in at a sold out Manchester Arena. And this is Costa Zoo. This is a guy that, you know, can can can really hurt you with that right hand. Very physically strong. And you just saw Ricky Haddon apply that. Ricky Haddon approached, mauling, brawling, relentless, not giving you any time to rest. That was the first time that I really took notice of him. But one of my best memories of Ricky was when he fought Floyd Mayweather, sold out MGM Grand Arena in 2008. And at that time, Floyd was going back and forth between Dancing with the Stars.
3:46And I'm thinking in my mind, as we're watching the 24-7, I'm like, brother, you better lock in with Ricky Haddon. This ain't the guy to be playing with and Floyd eventually got eliminated from the show finished his camp but I remember Floyd being in his locker room and you could hear the crowd in the arena it's almost like the MGM Grand Arena was shaking because you hear all these fans from the UK screaming there's only one Ricky Hatton. And that thing was, it was lit. It was loud. And you can see Floyd processing what he was getting ready to get into. Floyd had never fought in front of a crowd like that before.
4:30So those are one of my fondest memories of Ricky. And up to that point at that time, I had not seen a fan base travel for their guy like that. That meant a lot. And that shows you what he meant to a lot of people because he was the first one i think to ever bring that magnitude of people from that side of the world over to this side i think he brought at least 20 000 plus fans with him from the uk to the usa and we would never be able to get that many fans leave the usa and go to the uk but 20 000 plus came all the way across the pond for ricky hat that showed you the kind of support, the kind of love, and the kind of humility he had amongst his people.
5:15People always talk about, like I said again, legacy and currency, but when you have a legacy where that many people will follow you, it says more about you than what currency ever could say. Ricky Hatton was truly a great man, a man that was loved by his country, a man that was loved by his peers, a man who meant a lot to the sport of boxing because of how much he was loved. he brought things to the sport that nobody else brought i mean he was a rugged guy no he wasn't the best boxer no he didn't have the best iq but he was so rugged and he bought the best of what he bought to the table he made up for it you understand his work ethic overruled all the technique and the technicalities you know i mean that work rate overruled all of that so he dominated in fights that most people would have thought his skill level should have never his skill level should have never beat Costa Zou.
6:04But that determination and that heart and that grit, it beat Costa Zou because he showed you that his grit was stronger than most of anybody we've ever seen. He was like, to me, he was a lighter weight version of Joe Frazier. He wouldn't stop him for nothing. He had a little bit of Roberto Duran in there too on that inside game. Yes, he did. Getting that position, moving that, clutching that arm, moving that arm, getting position and ripping them body shots. I'm going to say this last point on Ricky before we move on. you know i i appreciated his approach too because he didn't take himself too serious you know he was the hit man but but his fan base also called him and he called himself ricky fatten this is a guy that was at 140 pounds then eventually 47 this is a guy that would get up to over 200 pounds yeah and it was well publicized his time spent in the pub in manchester playing darts doing what they do and you know he said i like to drink and i like to eat and he would get that weight off every camp and boil down to 140 or 147 and go out there and compete um and it became a whole thing with his fan base and i just appreciated his approach to the game very very tough blow for the sport of boxing especially coming off a high like canelo and crawford uh Again, condolences to his whole family.
7:26Condolences to his fan base. Man, he will be missed. Yes, he will. What up, Fight Fans? This is your boy, Ock. We have a super entertaining fight coming your way. Join in on all the action with our partners at DraftKings. Devin Haney versus Norman. Massive fight. This is very important for boxing. It might not get a whole bunch of people watching because O 'Brien Norman's not famous yet, but he can be after this fight. Devin Haney has a lot to prove you right, but he's facing a guy with knockout power. The topic here is Devin Haney being one of the bravest fighters in boxing. 100%. And people are going to be looking to see what kind of fight he fights.
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8:35I want to get into this weekend. I want to get into this experience that we all had this weekend in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. What a way to break in a new stadium. Yes. There'd never been a boxing match at Allegiant Stadium. Even early on when there was talks about this fight being moved to MSG. We love Madison Square Garden. That's the boxing mecca. We get it. But it felt like the fight should be at Allegiant Stadium. I mean, just looking at that stadium from the outside in, it just feels like that's where that fight should take place. And before I get into the business that happened in the ring, I want to get into the business that this fight produced outside the ring.
9:15The gross revenue is being reported at$47 ,231 ,000. That's the reported announced live gate. The attendance was 70 ,482 fans in the building. I'm looking way, way, way up before they turned the lights out. Couldn't see no empty seats. None. So it's a sellout and it's the highest grossing single day event in Allegiant Stadium history. The second biggest boxing attendance indoors in the U.S., surpassing Ali Spinks, too. And it's the third highest behind Mayweather and McGregor. These boys did business outside the ring before they even stepped in the ring. But as I saw both fighters walk to the ring, obviously, both fighters have been around a long time.
10:08Canelo's fought over 500 professional rounds, been in mega, mega fights for, you know, most of his career. Terrence Crawford has had his fair share of big events. And it's always interesting seeing those early moments going into a fight, the ring walk, body language and you get in the ring. To me, there wasn't Terrence Crawford didn't have the wide eye look. In fact, when he stepped from behind the tunnel and came out, he seemed to come alive when he saw the crowd. He looked up and he saw those people. And even though it was a pro Canelo crowd, it looked like it woke him up. And then when I saw Canelo, what I noticed about him was that brother look a lot different tonight than he did yesterday in his face.
10:53he was full faced his body looked like he put the weight on and it's interesting because during during that first round I mean the first two three seconds they touch gloves and Crawford flicked two jabs at Canelo and kind of stood his ground and I said okay we're gonna have a real fight tonight what was your early feel all the stuff I described how did how was you feeling in them first right before that first bell run it's a lot to say and I guess I'm gonna go along with you at this, but I do want to first say before I say it, before I forget it, I got to take my hat off to Canelo. He's one of the most gracious champions that the sport is ever going to see.
11:33He bowed out like a true champion should. He made no excuses. He just told it like it was. And that gives me even more love and respect for Canelo than I already had. And I had nothing but the utmost respect for him already. But the way he bowed out graciously without excuses gave me even more respect for him. But now to the good stuff that we got to go through. The thing that got me, Dre, was not even before the walkouts. But I didn't go into it and didn't want to elaborate too much because I didn't want to sway one side or the other. But in that stare down that we talked about when I told you either he's not ready for this or he turned a little boy, but he wasn't trying to look what Bud.
12:15He really was afraid. Well, not afraid, but he was worried about Bud. And Bud knew that. And Bud being the older guy, Bud kind of looked him in his eye and made him turn away first. That was a victory for Bud. That was Bud's first victory. Anytime that happens, if something else don't come around or something else don't happen to undo that, you got a problem. For me, when I fought John Reese, I went to the press conference, that same press conference right before the fight. He beat me in that press conference and that's the first time i ever lost in a press conference but he beat me in that press conference so so i had it well he dressed up as a pimp you know and i had i had no clues that none of that was coming and he said i was gonna be his little beat you understand me he got you with a shot and i had i had no comeback you understand what i'm coming from right so i had to pray to god for a comeback and sure enough god gave me a comeback you know but yeah at that point at the fight took place right after that he might have won the fight because he had me he had me a little bit shook because he outdid me at the press conference.
13:10I've never been outdone at a press conference. You understand me? Never been beat at a press conference, but he got me that time. Caught me off guard, but he did get me. So when I saw Bud stare at him like that and he turned away first, that sent shivers down my spine. I didn't want to say nothing, like I said, because I'm not here to take sides. I like both guys and boxing needed this fight more than anything else. And so I didn't want to manipulate and tell what I thought like I thought it because I wanted to stay in the middle because as a sport, this is one of the best things that could have happened to our sport right now.
13:40Two real fighters at a real time fighting one another. You understand me? I'm so appreciative of what they did that I didn't want to truly give my opinion or give my what I really thought the way I felt it because I wanted everybody to enjoy the fight. You understand where I'm coming from? But when he turned away like that, I kind of knew he was going to be in for a long night. Yeah, that is interesting because you and I talked about that, and it's very easy to blow that moment off right it could be nothing it could be a canelo alvarez that's making weight because he had a probably i know probably he had a tougher weight cut than terrence crawford you're doing fight week festivities uh talking to the media doing grand arrival uh doing press conferences weigh-ins most of the time your mouth is dry bro yeah you're dehydrated and you just can't wait to make the weight that could have just been it like i'm not getting ready to tussle with you and be trying to stare you down at this moment it could have just been that but if you've been in this game you know it means something you just don't know how much it means so I agree with you I saw that me and you talked about it and it was very very interesting because I don't see Canelo do that with a lot of guys I've seen him do that with guys that he's sort of dismissive toward guys that he knows it's I'm going to get you tomorrow night thank you for taking a challenge but you know this is my show and some thought that was a kind of trying to little boy and trying to son terrence i didn't think that i just thought that to your point terrence won that moment and um those things matter i think the last time i lost a face-off nobody could tell but me was edison miranda that was my that was in my hometown and um we're at the weigh-in and you know Edison Miranda is a real dude and that was a big moment for me so we do the face off and this man put his forehead on my forehead and he pressed up against my forehead and I'm trying to press back against his forehead and I don't remember who broke first but that moment it kind of had me for a second I remember getting in my car after the weigh-in I was like oh he's serious he didn't come to lay down like he ain't scared he really believes he's gonna win and that was a moment i had to get myself together in the hotel room between the weigh-in and the actual night of the fight so it happens to the best of us you just gotta recover as best as you can man it's just it just is what it is but but what i'm saying though what's so what's so funny about that though, Dre, is if you know boxing or if you ever done this before, you kind of got a feeling of what that meant right there because I got to take it and go a little bit further with it.
16:32I always had to boil down and wait. You understand me? Even when I didn't have to boil down, when I fought Reese, I was not going to turn away first. You understand me? But when I had to boil down and wait, I was so angry because I was boiling down and you was the reason I was boiling down. All that was in my eyes when I'm looking at you. You may not hear it, but you see it. I am honestly highly pissed off because I haven't eaten and I haven't been able to drink the way I want to eat and drink because of you. You understand me? So I'm not looking away from you first. I don't care what goes on.
17:04So when that happened, when that happened and me knowing you had to pull down further than Bud did and don't get it twisted. At that point, you're so weak and tired. You probably couldn't beat nobody if you didn't get into a fight with them. You understand? But that ain't what you portraying. You got to portray what you feel in your heart right now. You got to be a chameleon. Your heart got to talk right now. You understand me? And that's why I'm saying that bothered me because I know you had to pull down further than he did. But now he going to look at you last when he's the reason you put it down.
17:34But go back to sleeping in them setting sheets, too. Sometimes you sleep in them setting sheets. That stuff doesn't really matter no more. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You start giving in in areas that you normally wouldn't give in. Yes. You know, he'd been in the game a very long time. big events. This ain't new to me. I used to feel that way, but I don't feel that way now. That's the slippage. We think slippage sometimes is always, oh, he don't have the reflexes or he's not the one enough punches or the way he used to. Sometimes that slippage is here. Hunger. Sometimes I don't have that. That fire is burning, but not like it used to.
18:09That flame ain't as big as it used to. That adds up in big moments against another real guy. Especially the guy that's hungry but going into this fight there was no way that knowing what I know about Terrence Crawford and knowing what I know about Canelo Alvarez over the years that either guy was going to punk the other guy there was not going to be a situation where intimidation was going to win this fight or you know you're bigger than me so I'm not going to beat myself I knew both guys would be themselves And I talk about that first jab that Crawford threw right after they touched gloves. It seems like nothing, but that was a small message.
18:51Standing his ground for 10, 15 seconds, letting Canelo know I'm not going to retreat right away, even though eventually Crawford started boxing. That's that alpha stuff. That's that dominant stuff that when you've been dominant for so long, you can't think of not being dominant. I don't care who I'm on the other side. Who's on the other side of the ring I'm against. And that's what I saw from Terrence early in this fight. You know, I saw Canelo doing what I thought he would do. He eventually started pressing forward, landing lead body shots. And I, you know, I was on a call with John Anik and Max Kellerman the night of the fight.
19:24And I said, man, Canelo starting early with those lead body shots. Crawford can't allow him to do that because that starts to add up. And there was a moment also early in the fight where Canelo tried to stick to the script. they were in a clinch along the ropes and Canelo kind of got Crawford off of his feet a little bit and that was a moment and then later in the fight you see Crawford try to basically yoke up Canelo Alvarez and let him know that's not gonna happen this time but when I started seeing Crawford block shots and then counter I knew he was gaining ground and he had been he had he was he was on the sun because you cannot just retreat from an aggressive guy you cannot just block punches you can't you can't just do that you need to do that but at some point you gotta stay in a line of fire look down the barrel block that shot and let that other dude know that if you get stupid if you get reckless I'm gonna hit you back yeah he did that a lot and uh first I was kind of worried too because he let Canelo kind of have his way the first three or four rounds I felt you He let him kind of come forward as he chose.
20:35And he waited his time, which was very smart. Let some of that steam get off of him before you make your mark. Then he finally hit him with a shot. And I think the shot might have messed up Canelo's eye a little bit. And I said, oh, there goes a shot right there. Now he got Canelo's respect. When I saw that, I knew that now we may have a different fight. When he came right there, I think at the beginning of that sixth round, and he left that combination right away, I said, okay, now Bud is in command. Bud has this rhythm now. Now Canelo finna have to deal with something because he's walking around, like I said, and I kept saying beforehand, he got to fight this way, not that way.
21:10He's still fighting this way, and it made it very difficult for him because as Canelo Alvarez has been a great fighter his whole career, people like Erislande Lara gave you the blueprint on how to beat him. People like Floyd Mayweather also gave you the blueprint on how to beat him. But Bud is more fierce, more fearsome and more angrier and more meaner than both of those guys. so you know if they showed you the blueprint Bud gonna go out there and take that blueprint and do even more with it which is what Bud did so it was never a question in my mind whether Bud really was gonna outbox me just if he could take the punch and right away he showed bam he could take the punch so I know from that point if he just slow him down which he did he'd be okay then late in the fight what other people still didn't see late in the fight Bud started hitting Canelo's body one of those body shots I think about a 7th or 8th round hurt Canelo I was like whoa Bud hit him in the right spot then he got Canelo's respect with that, too.
22:02Bud fought a very, very awesome fight. Fought a beautiful fight. Very tactical. Very controlled. Yes, it was a beautiful fight for boxing. Fan-wise, it was a little different. He did give you some combinations, too, so you got to see that, too. But if it was like fan and fan, the Mexican fans, of course, wanted Canelo to win, and other people wanted Bud to win. Fan for the magnitude of the fight, for what the fight meant. It was a beautiful fight for everybody. It was a beautiful fight. Like, you know, Bud got hit with some shots. He did. He did. He got hit with some single shots going out. You know, he's going out, and you know Canelo, if he has you trapped in the corner or along the ropes, it's typically one to two big shots.
22:41You know that if you've watched him. So you could tell Crawford, as he was going out, he knew the one shot was coming. And several times it landed. He even got hit with a two-piece. I don't remember what round it was. An uppercut right hand that Crawford took well. So when you started seeing him absorb the shots, if you're team Crawford, you don't want him to take that shot. But if you start seeing you started seeing that now, you know that. OK. And I think that's what gave Crawford the green light to stay there a little bit longer. Right. There was a go ahead. Go ahead. He smiled about it. He smiled about it.
23:16And sometimes that smile can be a lie. And sometimes that smile can mean what I think it meant for Crawford, which is, oh, that's not as bad as I thought it was. but and i'm gonna say this too i gave canelo and we'll get to the scorecard at the end but i gave canelo four rounds me too and i seen y 'all playing with me before the fight the canelo friends i seen y 'all trying to put the put the little meme up about uh me giving crawford everywhere i seen y 'all i seen that i just didn't comment on it y 'all y 'all y 'all underestimating your boy's professionalism and integrity, but I didn't give Crawford every round.
24:00I played it down the middle like I was supposed to, but I gave Canelo that first round. I could have went either way. I think he landed a few heavier body shots that made me just tick that box for him. The next two rounds I gave to Crawford and I gave Canelo four and five. Again, If you look at the official scores, a lot of those rounds early on, you got the pin up like this. If you're scoring and you just be like, man, he did two good things or he closed that round. Man, I think I'm going to give it to him. Those are not broad rounds by any stretch of the imagination. But that back half was primarily Crawford.
24:39And I expected it to be that because I don't think I think Canelo started to concede at a certain point. I think that point was around round nine. That's the round when Crawford in the Southpaw stance, got in a fighting stance and started to exchange with Canelo and got the better of that exchange. That got the crowd woke. That got Crawford woke to let him know I can sit here with this dude. I can take the power and I'm getting the better of it. That was bad on Canelo. That was a bad look, but I think that's the round, if I'm not mistaken, that he reached out and he conceded once again. At the end of the round, his glove went like this.
25:21He reached out for Crawford. I don't think either Crawford seen it and didn't want to touch gloves or he didn't see it. He turned his back. I looked over to Max and I said, hey, that's a big sign right there. That's a show of what, Roy? Respect. We both saw that because soon he did that, I saw the same exact thing. so it's like when you see a guy turn and reach his hand out like that and the other guy just turn away what are you trying to shake my hand for now? We fighting we ain't shaking hands to the zone literally fight right now what are you doing? You understand me? But I felt like when the boy came out I think about the 6th round I want to say it was around the 6th round he came out and he sat right in the middle of the ring and he hit him with about 5 or 6 punches boom boom boom boom boom boom it was 9?
26:04Well maybe my memory right now I do have a bad mind so I could be wrong but I thought by round six or seven, but you could be right. Anyway, that round, when that happened, I knew then that Bud was in control and that that was going to be pretty much the end. I said, now Bud has control. Now he's going to go downhill from here. And that's exactly what happened. But to be honest with you, because I'm like you, I'm a guy that's in the middle. I gave Canelo probably more of the earlier rounds than most people did because he was fighting his fight. He was fighting aggressively. He was doing what he wanted to do.
26:33He was letting him bigger shots than Bud. So I gave him the first three or four rounds myself because he was being Canelo. You understand me? But then after round five or six, and I gave Bud a couple of men there too, but after round five or six, Bud came out and started being Bud. And when Bud started being Bud, Bud took over from that point. And to me, he clearly kind of just took over the rest of the fight. So I thought Canelo won maybe four or five earlier I gave him. But out of that back half, Bud took at least seven of them last, took seven out of that last, probably seven. So after that I just thought that Bud took the most rounds In the late part and that's why I thought Bud Won the fight easily Because the championship rounds he also won And you gotta win the championship Round this is Las Vegas And Las Vegas Not gonna call out any particular Judge but Las Vegas Has a tendency to go with the Money fighter the guy that's bringing in The biggest fan base That's bringing in the biggest revenue in close situations.
27:35Crawford has been fighting for a long time. He was aware of that. And that's why you saw him stepping on the gas, being aggressive 11 in the 11th round. If Terrence Crawford loses the 12th round, that's a split draw. They would have had two judges would have had it a draw. And the only judge that would have still had Terrence Crawford winning was Steve Weisfield, which I think is one of the best judges in the game. He knew that. And his corner was saying box. I know conventional wisdom is saying you probably up. You should box. This type of moment, you can't go off properly. You gotta go take it.
28:15You gotta put your stamp on it just the way he did because if we got a split draw, we having a whole totally different discussion right now. Whole different discussion. And for me... So he did... He did the right thing because if you notice, like I said, the reason like a person like me, if I was a betting man, normally I would just say, hey, I'm going to bet all my money on Crawford because I thought late in the fight, I didn't think Canelo was going to knock him out with one punch because like I kept telling people, Canelo don't really do a lot of one punch knockouts to the head unless it's a guy that's not known for really taking a big shot like that.
28:47You understand me? He'll weigh you down over a time, then get you a shot to hit, but he's not a one-punch knockout guy, which is why I didn't think he really was going to knock Crawford out. But what I was afraid of was because you see the B-ball fight, I thought B-ball was up 9-3. And if B-ball would have lost that last round, that would have been a draw too. You understand what I'm coming from? So it's like when you notice this, like you just said, when you know how that goes, as a fighter, you know you got to keep stepping on the cast. You can't just stop and say, okay, I think I got this in the bag.
29:18No. Look what happened with Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad. Oscar, the one early rounds, I thought he had in the bag, took the foot off the gas, and they gave it to Trinidad. You understand where I'm coming from? So it's like, you cannot take your foot off the gas in no big fight. I don't care who you are. So that's why a lot of people were mad at me about the situation with Lomachenko and Devin Haney. You know what I said? But he took it, he beat him in 11 rounds. He lost the 12th round, though, bro. That's what did it. He lost the 12th round. No, no, no. I'm agreeing which I'm saying Loma did not close the fight.
29:50Loma lost the 12th round. If you win that 12th round, you might win the fight because them two championship rounds, you won 11 rounds bigger than anybody won any round in the whole fight. So if you win 11 and 12 like that, you might get it. But you gave the 12th round away, they're not going to get you that decision, bro. I'm sorry. And so it's like, I mean, Loma was one of my favorite fighters, but you can't go out there and take your foot off the gas. I mean, and then get mad about it. No. Crawford did what you thought he was going to do and he closed the show you got to close the show if you really believe that you are better than this man you got to close the show you got to do it for 12 rounds and leave no doubt because again if he had lost that 12th round we'd have been having a totally different discussion right now and right now Terrence Crawford it took him 17 years to become an overnight success now you see everybody oh have you heard about that Terrence Crawford he sure can fight and it's just like that sometimes for certain guys sometimes some guys catch early and some guys catch on late if you know boxing and you don't have nothing personal against the guy and you can think clearly about what you're seeing and you know what you're seeing Terrence Crawford has been the best fighter in the world for a very long time and he just showed it again Saturday night see great fighters they rise and them type of moments the pressure stick if you lose the fall out of stick the reward is is big and heavy um great fighters rise in their moments it don't mean you're gonna always win every fight but it means more times than not you're gonna rise in them moments and that's what we saw terrence crawford do and never had never seen emotion like that from him uh after a fight it was good to see that but i want to jump and talk about a point that you that you started with about Canelo's class and the way he dealt with that defeat.
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31:42I know that defeat hurt. Canelo doesn't get to where he's gotten in the sport just accepting defeat easily. And it would have been so easy to play off of, I thought I won. I thought I did enough and start to, you know, sound the alarm about a robbery and the fan base would have got behind it. Canelo said, I didn't have any answers for his style. I did my best. I trained well. We know that based on the guys that he had in camp i didn't cut corners man all credit to terrence crawford he's a great fighter in fact he said that he's better than floyd maywell that's a whole nother discussion but i respect canelo and i think his fan base um the ones that are online claiming that you know that that it was a robbery and it was a fix for terrence crawford boxing hasn't given terrence crawford anything up to this point they haven't given him anything why would they give him something right now over Canelo Alvarez.
32:40Why would they favor Terrence Crawford over the cash Kyle Canelo Alvarez? They're not going to do it. So Crawford earned that win and I think the fan base, those that are doing this, I'm not saying all are, take the lead from your leader. If he's not complaining, if he's not saying it's a robbery, if he's not saying he was cheated, I think y 'all should follow suit. Yeah, I agree with that 100%. Y 'all want to say that too, but I'm also going to say one more thing and I'm going to I rub some people the wrong way because I'm probably going to rub them the wrong way. But this is what I do anyway, so I love it.
33:13And I'm going to say it like this. Terrence Crawford went and got it from the mud. You understand me? I tried to set examples when I was coming up on how to do things. Terrence Crawford shows you how to go get it out the mud. You understand me? Terrence's been there all these years. Nobody would ever give Terrence that shot to become that guy. You understand me? Finally, Earl gave it to him after five years and he became that guy. but most people who were capable of giving him that shot at that time avoided him and didn't give him that shot. Terrence earns and always have had my most utmost respect because he gets it out the mud.
33:52People like Victor Postle were not weak, easy to beat guys. Victor Postle had not really lost until he got to Bud. Bud made him look like nothing. You know what I mean? Bud been beating these guys that we don't know are monsters, but the game knows they were pretty good fighters. Damn good fighters to be exact. He's been going through anything they brought to him for a long time. He did not manipulate the game. He hit the game head on, waited patiently until this time came, and took full advantage of that night. That's how I understood boxing to go. Not people to go out and do things other ways.
34:26Go straight down that line, hit that ball straight off the middle. You understand me? That's what Bud did. The last person I seen do that, I got two other people that I love because they did that. Number one of them was Marvin Hagler. Marvin Hagler had almost 50 fights before they let him fight for a title. You understand me? 50 fights before he got a shot. You understand me? That's a long time. That's no manipulation. That's standing in the gap, doing what you got to do to your time come. That's what Bud did. He stood in the gap till his time came. And when his time came, he took full advantage of it.
34:57The only other guy that comes to mind, and he did it different from Bud, but his journey was the same. and that's why people don't understand why I always talk about this guy, why he always one of my favorite fighters, because I saw him get it out the mud. Nate Campbell, nobody gave Nate Campbell nothing. Nate Campbell was B-side for the first half of his career. You understand me? For the first half of his career, he was the B-side guy, but none of them A-side guys beat him. He got it out the mud. That's what Bud did. And I got nothing but the utmost respect for people like that because they know how to go get it.
35:29When I came up, I didn't go with the big promoters. Why? Because I wanted to fight whoever wanted to fight me, whenever they wanted to fight me, however they wanted to fight me, wherever we wanted to fight at. That's what I believed in. That's how Bud did it. And that's what I learned the most about it. Not only that, but, and I don't want to go too far down this road, but I'm probably going to upset some people too. There was a point not long ago where the smear campaign against Crawford was real. There was a smear campaign about his personality. He doesn't talk. He doesn't. Nobody wants to hear him.
36:04No, that you don't want to hear. So you try to speak for the masses when the whole time you have a star right here. You got to learn how to talk to this man. If you don't understand his background, maybe we got to spend more time asking questions instead of making judgments about people. If you understand his background, it wouldn't be a shock that he don't want to talk to you or that he at least doesn't trust you. Maybe you got to get to him a different type of way instead of just demanding things because a guy like Crawford, you demand things, he going to shut down. I ain't got nothing for you.
36:35So I'm happy for him because, again, it took 17, 18 years to become an overnight success. Obviously, he's had success and he's been doing his thing. But I mean, this kind of success. And yes, beating the guy he beat the way he beat him has a lot to do with that. But it's just interesting that not long ago, just a few years ago, I don't know, nobody want to fight him. He came, you know, he ain't gonna get the Spence fight. Well, he got the Spence fight and he performed. Oh, he ain't gonna get the Canelo fight. Even just as recent as the fight before Canelo. That was a stadium that was full. And you had riders trying to go do research on how many tickets were actually sold and how many tickets were actually given away.
37:16I don't care about what that number is. You know why? Because if you ain't a good fighter and you're not worth my time, you can give me whatever you want to give me. I'm not going to show up to no stadium and be there all night because I was a long card that night and come watch you fight. So even as recent as his last fight, the fight before Canelo, the smear campaign continued. I don't hear the smear campaign now. Them voices got really, really quiet like they typically do when they get proven wrong. and they either try to jump on the wagon. I knew this kid was going to be that. Or they get very, very quiet and they start to retreat back to wherever they came from and they don't have a lot to say.
37:57So I'm happy for this brother for that reason because they tried to bury him, Roy. It didn't work. He overcame that. He said, give me my shot. I'm going to show you. And he kept doing it time and time again. And he did it again against Canelo Alvarez Saturday night. Yes, he survived it all. He's really what they call a survivor. To go that long without people giving you an opportunity is saying a lot. He really survived a long time before he got there, and now he's there. And like I said, there's other stuff that could be said, but I'm not going to do it because I don't want people to think I'm trying to smear nobody either.
38:32So I'm going to shut my mouth and say I appreciate Bud Crawford for what he did. I appreciate Canelo for being a sportsman, the gentleman that he was. Yes, got to give him credit for that. But Bud put on a hell of a performance, and if you didn't see that coming, shame on you because I've been watching this guy since his first upset which was against Brazos Prescott. I knew way back then that this guy was something to deal with. You understand me? And it ain't changed one bit to this day. And that was the last time I believe he was actually the underdog. That was the last time but people didn't think he was going to win it.
39:01The Brazos Prescott fight until Saturday night. Well, some people had him underdog against Spence too but I kind of knew that too. I don't know what the odds are for that fight, but that's true. This guy's a guy who comes up and he going to perform to the level of his competition or to the level of his expectations. And I'm going to tell you another thing. To be disciplined enough and to have the knowledge to know. This is when you know a guy is really a student of the game. He studied enough to know that the best way to beat Canelo was from the Southpaw stance. He never switched, not one time in the fight.
39:35Not one time. And I got a friend from San Antonio. I got to give him credit too because he told me this before the fight. He said, watch, Bull won't switch orthodox not one time in this fight because he knows he don't need to. And sure enough, he was right. Coming out of this fight, I want to talk real quick about where Canelo and Crawford are now and what they should do next. You hear a lot of talk about Crawford now. Is he the greatest of all time? That's a tough one for me, man. And, you know, I think he's in the conversation 1000 % as one of the greatest of all time. Is he the greatest of this generation?
40:11I think in terms of what he accomplished, the type of fighter he is, absolutely. And what do you think about where this lands him now? And even with the pound for pound, you know, Inouye, Usyk, and Crawford, they're calling them the three kings now. I think Crawford has been the best for a long time. I love what Usyk is doing. I love what Inouye is doing, but I just think the road that Crawford has taken, I think the way that he's done it, the level in which he's done it, not to say they haven't done it at that level, and the duration, the time in which he's done it, I think he is the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now, and I think he's one of the greatest of all times, and he is the best of this generation.
40:50He's by far the best of the generation of all times. Hard to say, Ali, you're going to always be my GOAT. You understand me? And I'm just going to be there regardless. then as far as the power list right now, it definitely goes Crawford, Usyk, Inouye. And it goes by not only longevity, but the things you had to go through to get there. You understand me? This guy had to go through way more than opponents to get to where he is right now. You understand me? Which is why Ali always be the goal in my book, because Ali went through way more than just opponents to do the things that he did and still became the most noted face on the planet with no social media you understand me he went talking about he went through way more than just boxing opponents that we also have to dominate to become the GOAT you understand that's why I never take that title from Muhammad Ali I won't give it to nobody including myself because we didn't go through what he went through and he still dominated the sport at a time when the best fought the best at a time when everybody in that top 10 could have been the world champ on any given night at a time when it wasn't even right to be his color and do the things that he did at a time when things were so drastic he still dominated and was still the most known man in the world not just america in the world you understand i mean so alley would always be the goat but bud has put himself and i text him and told him that welcome to the goat neighborhood bro because he in it now you understand When you talk about goats, he in that neighborhood.
42:21So you got to move over and let him. He just kicked that door in and got in that goat status now. Yeah, he on the street. He got a house there. You feel me? All of us got houses in that neighborhood. He definitely got a house in that neighborhood now. Because the goat conversation is also subjective, right? You got the hard facts, who you fought, when you fought your era. But some of it is personal, where it's like, I got a lot of young fighters saying, man, you my goat. I accept that. You got because I'm your goat with the impact that I've had on you, how you watch me, what you've taken from me.
42:56I'm not going to deny you that. So sometimes the goat conversation, the overall goat conversation is very subjective and very personal, depending on who you talk to. And you just mentioned that for yourself. And that's why it's hard for me, too, because I start looking at the era that they were in, the opponents that they fought and who they were when they fought them. how dangerous that era was. How many rounds did they fight? How many total fights did they have? 115, 16, 17 for Sugar Ray Robinson. Ali had 70. Like, come on, man. Like, you know, there's just some different type of stuff. And that's why I will never accept anybody.
43:28And I have fans, oh, you, I'm not going to put myself down if you want me to be your goat. I know I'm on the street. I got my house. You're in the neighborhood. I'm not in that category because I just got too much respect for these dudes. Let's pivot to Canelo Alvarez. What does he do from here? Well, it's tough to say because he's made enough money that he can retire. He really has nothing else to prove. We saw him go up. He tested himself all the way up as far as he could go. He won the light heavyweight title. Then he lost to B-ball. So that shows that the light heavyweight was his ceiling.
44:02And that's good enough. Really, right now he's got nothing else to prove. I mean, of course, if you keep fighting, people are going to demand you fight the monster because both you guys are Mexican. But to me, you probably shouldn't do that. You understand me? It's probably not a good fight for you at this point for real, especially coming off a loss to Terrence Crawford. It's just, to me, I don't see the hunger there to really beat the monster. You understand me? And that's what my problem was already. I didn't think it was a good fight for him because I don't think the hunger is there. Terrence Crawford just showed us that the hunger is really not there anymore like that.
44:32You understand me? So you have to be extraordinarily hungry to go out there and beat the monster because you've got to put pressure on him from round one to round 12 or it's not going to work. And if you're not hungry, you're not going to do that. Same thing he would have had to do to Tange Crawford. He would have to put pressure on him from round one, from round one, from round one, from round one, solid pressure, no space between them. He had to be in his chest for 12 rounds. But he ain't hungry enough to really do that. So if you're not hungry enough to do that, don't go waste your time. Just call it a day because everybody's going to want to see you fight the monster.
45:01I don't know if they're going to be cool if you fight anybody else, but they're going to keep pushing the monster narrative at you, or they're going to see you fight Bud again. Now, if you fight Bud again, that's not a bad idea. Because it was a good fight. I thought you dominated the early rounds. Bud took over when it really counted and won most of the later rounds. And I thought, you know, it was a very good competitive fight. Just that at the end, Bud prevailed. Bud took over most of the last half of the fight. And that's what champions really do. So if you want to come back and try to avenge that, okay.
45:29But I don't really see that happening either. I don't really think he wants to do that. Yeah, I think that's a wrap too. So for me, I think he should probably just go and retire now. It's nothing else there. I don't think he has the hunger to go out and put up, not to compete with the people that people want to see him compete with. You feel me? Now, he wants to have a few more fights for himself. That's cool. But then he's going to get so, he's going to get very tainted with the fact that he'll say, yeah, you fight, but you avoid the monster. You understand me? That's going to take the rest of his career if he keeps trying to fight.
45:57So it's better for him to just call it a day. Man, I would like to see Canelo retire. I don't think he will, though. He's got a multi-fight deal with Turkey, Ella Chic. That's a lot of money on the table. and he's a proud, proud champion, so I could understand him not wanting to end on that note. But you can see Canelo getting older, and I'm not just talking about ring. I mean, you can see it in his face, you know, for the Netflix special behind the scenes. You kind of see the age. You see the wear and tear. The man has been fighting as a professional since he was 15 years old. 20 years. He's got over, yeah, it's a long time to be getting hit with 8-ounce to 10-ounce gloves, even if you take it well.
46:35And oftentimes the guys that take it well, they show it more because I'm absorbing a lot of shots and you giving me praise for absorbing them shots. But them shots take a toll. So. I don't know how much longer he should keep fighting, and it's not because he can't fight anymore. Still one of the best fighters in the world, but you get into the hunger conversation, you get into the total punishment that you got to add that stuff up when you start getting older. like okay man you know do I still need to do this he doesn't need to do it other than just his love for it because his mantra is no boxing no life so I don't know if he's going to be able to walk away right now his legacy is secure I think he's one of the greatest Mexican fighters that has ever done it I think he's in the great category and conversation we can break down a resume another day but I think that given the way that he fought and given the way that he bowed out I think you just got to just leave it right there give him his respect I would like to see him maybe take one or two more and call it a day go enjoy the fruits of his labor in terms of Terrence Crawford selfishly you want to see him fight again multiple times personally I wouldn't be mad if I never see Terrence fight again that the way he performed getting ready to be 38 I think in a few days man what better way to go out what what better way to tell the game goodbye what what better way who you gonna fight I was arguing Max on the way to the venue about Boots Ennis nah we don't go fight Canelo and then go fight go go back and fight Boots Ennis I saw a report today somebody was talking about uh him going up to light heavyweight nah we don't go up like heavyweight.
48:25We just went up three weight classes since the Spence fight and two weight classes since the Magimaw fight, my last fight. This is the perfect send-off, Roy, in my opinion. It's the perfect send-off. Without a question. See, here's another thing I forgot to say. I probably said it before, but when you look at the two fights that I looked at, I said when Charlo came to fight Canelo from 54, he put no muscle mass on. He didn't look at the blueprint. He didn't look at how that should be done when he moved up. He just moved up. So to me, you really ain't serious about beating him. But when Bud finished the Madrimal fight he started, well he was already put on the weight then for the Madrimal fight to come up and fight Canelo.
49:03He was always looking way down the line. When a guy goes and puts on the weight like that, to where he got to pull it down to 68, you knew then he was dead serious. Only thing you had to worry about is once he take that first one and see what that's like, it's a wrap for him. And you kind of saw that too. So when I saw the way he put the weight on, I already knew that was going to be trouble. Like I said, it's just not my job to tell nobody but i already knew well man we're gonna leave it right there roy uh again man condolences to the hatton family um we're gonna miss him man you know ricky hatton i didn't never met him i don't think personally um i did at least face to face i did he was a brilliant person just everything he was inside the ring he was that outside of the ring yes i'm trying to think if i met him at one of the early hall of fame events possibly possibly but i don't we haven't had a lot lot of interaction yeah um but i watched him from afar have a lot of respect for him and uh man condolences to the family and we're gonna leave it there and wrap this up man great fight weekend uh a lot still to talk about um i keep hearing whispers though i keep hearing i keep hearing people say that boxing is still dying roy but if boxing is dying man it's a slow death that boxing is hard to kill because I've been hearing about boxing dying for so many years now, even from boxing people, but we still not dead.
50:26You can't put on an event like that if boxing is dead. You can't have the viewership, and we waiting for the viewership for Netflix to come out, but it's going to be a record, whatever it is, for an all-time watched boxing match. So I hear what y 'all saying, but I'm too busy watching what boxing is doing. That's a wrap for us on the Hall of Game.
50:49Thank you.
From the publisher
Boxing Hall of Famers Andre Ward and Roy Jones Jr. break down the epic showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, where Crawford shocked the boxing world with a masterclass performance to become undisputed at super middleweight. They dissect the turning points, tactical brilliance, and what this win means for Crawford’s legacy. Plus, the two legends pay a heartfelt tribute to the late Ricky Hatton, honoring his grit and unforgettable impact on the sport.
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