By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS – First, there was Terence Crawford, dressed in a white top and a friendly smile.
Then, there was Canelo Alvarez, his eyes hidden by sunglasses darker than the undershirt he was wearing.
For about the next hour, both answered questions, talked philosophy, exchanged a few promises and threats.
There were a lot of roles on stage at T-Mobile Arena throughout a news conference Thursday, and both fighters played them well for a super-middleweight fight hard to predict, yet loaded with story lines and opinions
Sometime after opening bell at nearby Allegiant Stadium Saturday night, however, neither the opinions nor the stories will matter much in a ring near the 50-yard line of the NFL Stadium.
That’s when Canelo and Crawford will take matters into their own hands – hands as dangerous as any over the last decade of prize-fighting
Boxing newsers are always part of the show, of course. They set the stage for feints and perhaps a little bit of psychology. Rhetorical jabs before the real ones.
Crawford and Canelo were there, each with an answer for whatever was asked in front of a crowd that has already made up its mind.
For Crawford, that means changing minds.
For Canelo, it means affirming what many already think in the remaining hours before the Netflix-streamed bout.
No matter what else was said Thursday, Crawford and Canelo were in the place they’ve been since their intriguing super-middleweight fight was announced several weeks ago.
Crawford is the underdog, defiant and yet seemingly happy to be in the role.
“They say I’ve fought nobody, they say I can’t sell, they say I’ve got no personality,’’ Crawford said with the defiant edge that has helped him forge a career with skeptics but no losses
For the last decade, Crawford has proven everybody wrong. It was clear Thursday that he intends to deliver some definitive say-so against Canelo, who has played the popular favorite throughout most of his career.
It was no surprise that Canelo was the crowd favorite at Thursday’s newser. He’s been a powerful favorite for about as long as Crawford has been doubted.
The news-conference crowd amplified its expectations Thursday. It is betting Canelo’s long reign as Mexico’s best fighter since Julio Cesar Chavez will continue.
Canelo said he doesn’t listen to cheers or criticism. Maybe not. Go ahead, he says, and debate about his place in Mexican history, which has for long started and ended with Julio.
“In the end, the people will decide,’’ Canelo said. “The numbers will be there or they won’t.’’
For now, however, the numbers are in the seats, there at least in terms of support for Canelo in his risky date as the bigger man in defense of his undisputed super-middleweight.
Those numbers also add up to what might be an astonishing paycheck. There’s talk that Canelo will collect $100-million for fighting Crawford
Wrong, Saudi Prince and promoter Turki Alalshikh said Thursday.
“Our contract is for more than that,’’ said Alalshikh , who negotiated a three-fight deal in an 11th hour offer that convinced Canelo to agree to the Crawford fight.
Like the purses perhaps, Crawford, it’s thought, will enter the ring smaller. He’s a former undisputed welterweight and junior-welter champion, who is jumping up the scale from junior-middleweight to fight Canelo.
The Canelo chants, like the expectations, were bigger Thursday, echoing throughout the building like an old lyric.
Crawford heard them and smiled. He’s been there. Defiance has been his lifestyle. He’s good at it, and he intends to be just as good for at least one more time.
But defiance isn’t a physical attribute. It’s not included on any tale-of-the -ape. There’s no way to measure it. Canelo’s experience and documented power at a heavier weight might just be too much for Crawford.
It’s easier to defy skeptics than it is a left counter. In the end, it might prove to be that stark, that simple, no matter what else was said Thursday. In boxing, some roles never change.