TERENCE CRAWFORD STEPPED into the ring against Canelo Alvarez on Saturday night looking a lot more muscular than usual, after he spent a full 13 months preparing for the fight. The muscle wasn’t just for show, however, with Crawford stepping up two weight classes to face – and beat by unanimous decision – the Mexican boxer at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Shawn Porter has become a close training partner of Crawford’s in recent years, and saw first-hand the 37-year-old’s change in body composition. He details how Crawford took a sustainable approach to packing on size, ensuring he ate everything correctly and he could still move just as efficiently as he previously has at lower weights.
‘Most boxers don’t lift weights, that’s kind of the no-no in boxing. But when you’re putting on weight, it has to be muscle. You can’t put on fat, you can’t put on anything sluggish,’ Porter told the Daily Mail. ‘The best thing a fighter can do is hit the weights, up the protein. I saw the man eat – he’s eating brilliantly, doing it all right. It takes a good two years to successfully put on 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and get your body to acclimate. So when people talk about him being inactive for 13 months, they have to understand he’s been training for this night against Canelo.’
Indeed, Crawford’s previous fight, against Israil Madrimov, was at super welterweight in August 2024, where the maximum weight allowed is 154 pounds (69.8 kg). That’s a full 14 pounds (6kg) less than the 168-pound (76kg) maximum he fought Alvarez at in the super middleweight class.
It doesn’t look to have much of a negative impact, with the win against Alvarez helping him become the first male boxer in the four-belt era to be undisputed champion in three weight classes. His professional record now stands at 42-0, with wins coming across five different weight classes.
This article originally appeared on Men’s Health UK.
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