Vergil Ortiz Jr. has better skills than Terence Crawford who was left "exposed" by Israil Madrimov, says Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya recently shared his thoughts on the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov fight and claimed that Vergil Ortiz Jr. possessed better skills than the undefeated Nebraska native.
Crawford recently moved up a weight class to challenge Madrimov for his WBA super welterweight title last weekend in Los Angeles, California. After 12 rounds of action, 'Bud' got his hand raised via unanimous decision and took away Madrimov's undefeated status.
With Ortiz Jr. booked against Serhii Bohachuk in Las Vegas this weekend, De La Hoya was asked if he saw the Texas-born power puncher standing a chance against Crawford. The boxing promoter claimed Ortiz Jr. could defeat Crawford in the ring and said:
"Better skills, I literally think he [Ortiz Jr.] has better skills, it’s not the punching power. Crawford has ring IQ like there's no tomorrow but he was exposed last Saturday night. He was exposed against Madrimov.
De La Hoya continued:
"Exposed in a way where if you change up your style, if you don't stay in front of Crawford, if you're not a target right in front of him, he'll pick you apart. But if you're on your toes and you throw your jabs and you throw your hooks and combinations, he has trouble figuring you out."
Terence Crawford sounds off on Canelo Alvarez for "easy work" remark
Terence Crawford recently addressed Canelo Alvarez's claim that 'Bud' would be "easy work" for him and seemingly demanded a massive purse in the ballpark of $150 million to consider accepting a potential fight. Moreover, Alvarez was confident he could beat Crawford if the fight were contested at 168 pounds.
After Crawford's super welterweight win over Israil Madrimov, many began hyping a super fight between the Nebraska native and Alvarez. Ahead of his upcoming fight against Edgar Berlanga, Alvarez was asked about a potential Crawford fight.
The Mexican boxing star downplayed Crawford's skills and claimed he'd consider fighting him only for a bumper paycheck. During a recent appearance on The PorterWay Podcast, 'Bud' addressed Alvarez's statements and said:
"I heard him say I’m easy work. If I was easy work you’d take all that money that he [Turki Alalshikh] is offering you, but still he wants $200 million for Benavidez and he wants $150 million to fight me. So that just lets me know right there I’m a threat. I’m a threat to him and his legacy because it would be crazy for a guy that started at 135 [pounds] and came all the way upto 168 [pounds], your weight, no catchweight and dethrone you."