Eight years ago, before his title defense, a cocky Jeff Horn dismissed his opponent’s ring skills. “He has a devastating left hand; he can hurt you in the body or in the head. He’s able to switch-hit. But that’s all right; I have a few plans of my own,” he said. He was talking about Terence Crawford. Months after becoming the 140-pound undisputed champion, Crawford moved up a division and challenged Horn for the WBO welterweight belt. The bout ended in a ninth-round TKO loss for Horn. And though the reasons are different now, Horn hasn’t forgotten what Crawford can do in the ring.

In a few weeks, Terence Crawford will begin his campaign to claim undisputed status in a third weight class. But the road ahead looks daunting. Canelo Alvarez won’t let the Nebraskan have his way so easily. The hype around the September 13 clash at Allegiant Stadium has been building steadily. Each day, social media buzzes with talk of the historic showdown. Canelo remains the heavy favorite, yet opinions keep dividing. Some, like Jeff Horn, even believe Crawford could tip the scale.

Terence Crawford can flip the script

Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas recently asked Jeff Horn for his take on Canelo vs. Crawford. As one of the few who has traded punches with the Nebraskan southpaw, Horn is well-placed to weigh in. And he didn’t hold back: Terence Crawford, he said, could stop Canelo Alvarez.

“He’s got super accurate shots, and if he’s able to weather the storm early from Canelo, if that’s what Canelo’s strategy is, that could tire him out, and that would allow a window for Terence Crawford to start seeing if he’s able to pick the holes and land the good shots. He could certainly tire Canelo out and stop him later in the fight,” Horn told Villegas.

Asked earlier how the bout might unfold, Horn predicted a cautious start, especially from Canelo. He wouldn’t risk rushing into Crawford’s counters. But as the fight goes on, Horn believes Canelo will grow confident and use his size to impose himself on Crawford.

But Horn warned Canelo might face a surprise once Crawford brings out his superior defense.

The Crawford edge

“Crawford’s just going to use his great defense and move out of the way and clip Canelo every now and again,” Horn said. In his view, the fight has a good chance of going to the scorecards. Still, he added, “It’s either going to be a stoppage early for, like, a Canelo trying to just batter Crawford because of the size difference, or Crawford outsmarts him in there and clips him and tires him out using his boxing skills and then potentially finishes Canelo later in the fight like he did with me,” Jeff Horn told Marcos Villegas.

The former welterweight champion’s views echo in other corners. For Roy Jones Jr., it isn’t the much-discussed weight gap that matters most, but the skills on display. In his eyes, hunger will decide the outcome. And right now, Crawford looks hungrier. “What I’m seeing is a hungry Crawford,” the boxing great said before adding, “It’ll all be predicated upon how well Terence can take his punch. When you’re as skillful as Terence Crawford is, weight doesn’t really matter much,” he said in an interview with Fight Hub TV.

Still, it would be premature to dismiss Canelo. With 67 fights against some of the era’s biggest names, he reigns over the super middleweight division for a reason. Taking the throne from him won’t be easy.

Do you side with Jeff Horn’s take on the Canelo-Crawford fight?