Terence Crawford retired off the back of a victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Coach Brian McIntyre was instrumental in the gameplan to make that happen.
‘Bud’ Crawford moved up two divisions from his previous outing to challenge for Canelo’s undisputed super-middleweight world title, fighting his way to a unanimous decision victory to become champion in a fifth weight class.
The 38-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska announced his retirement not long after, calling time on an undefeated campaign that was helmed by trainer ‘BoMac’ from start to finish after they had worked together in the amateur ranks.
With Canelo set to return in September in pursuit of more world titles, BoMac believes he has the man to stop that happening: Lester Martinez.
Speaking to Pro Box TV, the acclaimed trainer talked up his charge’s chances, and said Crawford had to raise his game when sparring Martinez prior to the Alvarez fight.
“People are starting to talk about Lester Martinez. It’s great, man. He fits right in there. I personally feel he could beat Canelo. You know we got the blueprint, right?
“He damn sure [helped Crawford]. It was great work. That is where you saw Bud’s greatness come in, by switching up his styles, what he to do to get the work in with Lester. Lester, one of his weaknesses [could] sometimes play against him, but [he] got past that and to push Terence to a level where he needed to go and to get out there and do what he wanted to do in the [Canelo] fight. It was phenomenal.”
Martinez fought Christian Mbilli for the WBC interim title on the undercard of Canelo–Crawford, with the bout ending in a split draw. Mbilli, after retaining the interim belt, has now been upgraded to full champion in the wake of Crawford’s retirement.
A rematch was ordered in the wake of the fight and may still take place, with Mbilli currently weighing up his options for his first defence, another of which being Canelo himself.
Guatemala’s Martinez has time on his side at 30 years old and just 20 fights into his campaign, and many feel a world title is within his reach, particularly with the brain of BoMac in the corner. Should the opportunity to face the Mexican icon present itself, the coach believes he can solve that puzzle once more. First up is Immanuwel Aleem on March 21, again for the interim WBC strap.
