Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack: Canelo-Crawford, Deontay Wilder, Jake Paul-JCC Jr., The Death of Vegas Boxing

Welcome to a special Boxing Tribune edition of Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack, temporarily at a new home, but still filled with the same money load of gooey, salty truth. This week we have comments/questions regarding Canelo-Crawford, the death of Las Vegas boxing, Deontay Wilder, and Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Canelo vs. Crawford: A Pre-Preview

In the buildup to Canelo v Crawford Crawford’s resume is being questioned by many including Canelo. The fact that Canelo is taking so many jabs at Crawford let’s me know he’s concerned. I’ve followed Canelo his entire career and he typically restrains from this type of bickering. Why is Canelo trash talking and bickering about Crawfords resume? Is that uncharacteristic of him?

The tale of the tape makes this an evenly matched fight regardless of weight or resumes. People writing Crawford off due to the weightt simply don’t know boxing history. We’ve seen fighters like Sugar Ray, Roberto Duran, Shane Mosley and many others jumped up two weight classes without missing a beat. In the days of hydration and cutting weight. Guys like Crawford drain themselves to make lower weights and are sometimes more comfortable at their natural weight. Crawford has been very inactive with only 1 fight in the past two years. Will his inactivity be a disadvantage in the ring?

Crawford is about a .5 inch taller than Canelo, and he has a 4 inch reach advantage. The tale of the tape is in Crawford’s favor if he’s properly positioned himself to be effective with the additional weight.

If Canelo does win he must get credit for this victory. It’ll go down as his greatest victory in my opinion. I truly believe this is a legacy defining fight for both fighters. More so for Canelo. Crawford is the best fighter that a prime Canelo has ever faced.

The question remains whether the version of Canelo that we’ve seen the past 5 fights is the Canelo that shows up against Terence Crawford. Conversely, will Crawford be the same guy that showed up against Madrimov? I do believe that the Canelo we’ve seen the past 5 fights is indicative of the Canelo we’ll see in the ring against Crawford. To be precise I think the Canelo we saw vs Charlo is the Canelo that shows up.

Which version of both fighters do you expect?

– Na’-il Rahman

Hey Na’-il.

I’ll tackle these in order.

I don’t ever understand the logic of a fighter dismissing his opponent as unworthy or as a no-hoper. I mean, seriously, it makes people ask the question: “Then why are you fighting him?”

In Canelo’s case, I do think it’s concern and a stab at getting in Crawford’s head, injecting some doubt into someone who hasn’t been on as many big stages as him. If that’s the case, though, I think Canelo’s barking up the wrong tree. Bud’s got ice water in his veins and is confident to the point of almost being delusional.

As for the weight? I’ve said this from the moment the fight was first talked about, when Crawford was still a welterweight, but I don’t see the weight being much of an issue. Crawford probably walks around at 170-ish and Canelo’s walk-around weight isn’t much higher than his fighting weight. If anything, a fighter like Crawford, who turns 38 two weeks after the fight date, will probably benefit from not having to grind himself down to make an artificially light weight (in much the same way Manny Pacquiao benefited later in his career from competing at 147).

I don’t think Crawford’s inactivity will hurt him all that much. He’s a smart guy who stays in shape and stays active in the gym. He’s also a pro’s pro and should be able to step right into his game plan.

I can see the argument for a Crawford win being a career best for Canelo. Not sure I entirely agree, but it would definitely rank right up there. What I will say is that a loss would be devastating to Canelo and probably a career killer. Where do you go after being bested by someone moving up 2 or 3 weight classes and someone you’ve dismissed as unworthy of even the opportunity to share the ring with you?

I don’t think there’s any other version of Canelo than the one we’ve been seeing lately– and that’s why I’ve been picking Crawford to win since day one. Canelo is jaded and bloated by privilege and will be mentally unable to step things up to another level. He may be mentally incapable of even recognizing that he could lose if he falls behind.

Crawford, on the other hand, will be as hyped and as focused as he was for the Errol Spence fight. IMO, that spells trouble for Canelo.

Leaving Las Vegas

I was just in Las Vegas and started asking myself this question. Not long ago, most if not all fights were in Vegas. After looking at the fight schedule for the past few years, rarely any fights are held there anymore.

Has boxing failed their aura around Las Vegas? Sportsbook influence? Bad judging like we’re watching a completely different bout or is this just the Turki effect by just jamming cards all in Saudi Arabia? And the amount of belts, production companies and management idiots, I feel like just follow the cash, but would like your thoughts. I am not a crazy Vegas person either by the way…but it feels like the Vegas aura has diminished.

– A

Hey A.

You’re not wrong. Boxing has been moving away from Las Vegas and is now almost entirely divorced from it. In my opinion, there are a few reason behind this.

A few years back there was a concerted effort to move some of the smaller to mid-level fights to other areas, usually based on the regional appeal of a fighter in the main event. Some of the bigger fights got moved, too. This wasn’t a bad instinct, to be honest. I think it’s smart to build a local/regional fanbase before trying to promote next-level bouts. The only problem was that many of the big fights and big fighters just never made it back to the casinos.

Meanwhile, Vegas hasn’t done a great job in making their city a destination for the average fight visitor. In recent years, Las Vegas has become increasingly upscale. With prices skyrocketing and a shift made towards the high-end of everything, the city is no longer a tourist-friendly destination where someone can come and visit 2, 3, 4 times a year to see fights. The focus now entirely seems to be on the upscale visitor occupying the front rows and not on the “normal” fan. This goes for the UFC too, by the way.

As a result of the shift away from the everyday working class visitor, Vegas is hurting. They’d be smart to go back to doing things the way they did when Las Vegas was hot. Part of that would be to actively go out and try to bring some fights back to town.

I don’t know if they will, because it’s a lot easier to focus on a handful of people willing to drop four or five-figures on one night in town than a thousand people with varying amounts of expendable income.

The Saudi takeover definitely isn’t helping Las Vegas, either. The Saudis are pulling more and more fights away from the States and handing out the kind of paydays that make for a general slowdown as top fighters pause their careers, waiting on big-money Saudi fights to come their way.

Bronze Bomber, Shell-Shocked?

Hey Paul,

Deontay Wilder is fighting this week. As expected, there is not much buzz about the fight. Besides the fact that he’s fighting a relatively unknown guy, he has lost 4 of his last 5 fights. IMO, even if he wins in spectacular fashion, that will not be enough to say he is fully back. His performances after the Robert Helenius fight should be proof of that. He still has the name recognition that can/will get him a few more decent purses if he wins. Maybe do some undercard fights on major events. At his age he is not going to do anything in training camp to improve his performances, he never has. I just hate to see the guy get seriously hurt. There’s only so many excuses that he can make about his poor performances. My fear is one of the promotional companies will try to cash him out. I will say that based on his very limited ability as a boxer, he made the most out of his career.

What are your thoughts?

Regards.

– Reggie

Hey Reggie.

Deontay Wilder is done and there should be a special spot in hell reserved for anyone encouraging him to get back into the ring. There is no coming back to top-tier status from where he’s at right now. He might be able to string together some wins against a few no-hopers, but that shouldn’t be mistaken as a “comeback.” Honestly, at this point, I think even some of the no-hopers might have a good chance at pulling off the upset.

Wilder is 1-4 in his last five fights and has been stopped three times in that span. He’s absorbed some hellacious beatings, too. He hasn’t been even remotely “right” since the last Tyson Fury fight and he’s displaying all of the signs of a shot fighter– unsteady legs, an inability to let his hands go, and diminished punch resistance.

I can see him getting by Tyrrell Herndon on the 27th, mostly because Herndon is the very definition of a club fighter whose biggest fight of note has been a second-round knockout loss to Richard Torrez in 2023. But I wouldn’t say the fight is a gimme for Wilder, either. That’s how shot I think Deontay is.

I hold Wilder in high regard for what he was able to accomplish in his career given his limitations and his late start in the sport. Boxing was better– and more entertaining– with him around. But he’s done and he’s just piling damage onto his brain at this point.

Jake Paul: Serious or Seriously Pointless?

Hey Magno.

Jake Paul is going to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. this weekend. I’m not exactly sure when because it’s not something I will be watching. I’d be curious to get your take on where this whole Jake Paul boxing thing will end up, though? Is there some real path to being a legitimate fighter, with the end goal being a world title or is this just a series of paydays for no reason other than to make money? I’m done being upset and disgusted by these exhibition-type fights and I’m at the point where I just don’t care, but I am interested in seeing if/when Jake Paul steps over the line and gets beat up for going too far above his level.

– Steven from Vegas

Hey Steven.

Realistically, this is just about money and Jake Paul has to keep bringing in “names” that might offer the illusion of being dangerous so he can keep the hustle going.

If I were to be super, mega-optimistic, I could say that Paul’s resume is showing a build towards something. I mean, he did start fighting influencers and retired NBA stars, moved to retired MMA fighters, and has now moved on to retired boxers. That’s somewhat of a push forward and upward. If he continues to improve his level of opposition at the same rate, we might see him against legit contenders within five years.

But don’t hold your breath.

This is just a money grab. I’m not upset about it or burning with “purist” rage. It is what it is– meaningless fluff to occupy an evening while you wait on better things. Something like Paul-Chavez Jr. has a place, but I don’t give Paul or this fight too much thought.

Got a question (or hate mail) for Magno’s Bulging Mail Sack? The best of the best gets included in the weekly mailbag segment right here. Send your stuff here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com.