Conversation around the upcoming undisputed showdown between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford continues to build as fight night draws ever closer.
Saturday's (September 13) highly-anticipated contest at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will see Canelo defend his super-middleweight belts against Crawford.
The imminent meeting between the stars has been very close to call by those in the boxing world, with reasonable arguments having been made for either fighter's case to be victorious.
Among those to speak on the mega fight is former WBC interim lightweight champion Ryan Garcia.
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What Garcia has to say about Saturday's undisputed showdown
With Canelo having not registered a knockout victory since his 2021 beating of Caleb Plant, Garcia has reservations about whether the Mexican can revert to his past aggressive and explosive approach if that is required to beat Crawford.
"My problem with Canelo is his intensity. He doesn’t have the same intensity that he used to have, and I think that’s going to be the biggest issue," said Garcia on Inside the Ring.
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"Can he still counter punch? Yes. Can he still be slick? Yes. But does he have the energy and the intensity that he used to have when he was younger, or at least when he fought Plant, his last great performance?" the 27-year-old added.
Garcia also questions whether Canelo will be able to step up the pace in the fight if Crawford manages to be the busier fighter in the ring.
"Is (Canelo) going to have that second, third effort? That’s the problem he has. When (Dmitry) Bivol gave him three extra movements and three extra shots, Canelo ended up doing weird defensive moves that got him out of position," Garcia explained.
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