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Canelo-Khan, Golovkin-Brook: How fighters fare when they jump up two weight divisions
Terence Crawford will be chasing greatness this weekend when he challenges Canelo Alvarez for his undisputed super middleweight crown.
Canelo has dominated at 168lbs for several years and has now held all the belts on two separate occasions after being reunited with his IBF title earlier this year when he outpointed William Scull.
Crawford is a four-division champion himself but has never fought above 154lbs. That will all change on Saturday night, with the American jumping up two weight classes in his bid to become the king of a fifth division.
Moving up in weight so quickly is a risky strategy and has proved the undoing of some elite fighters. But others have shown it is possible to race through the weight categories and still emerge victorious.
Let’s take a look at how five boxers fared when going up two divisions ahead of Crawford’s own shot at glory in Las Vegas.
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Canelo vs Amir Khan(Leigh Dawney/Queensberry)
It’s only right to start with the man who will be in the opposite corner to Crawford this weekend – Canelo.
Back in 2016, the Mexican superstar was looking for an opponent to defend his WBC and Ring middleweight titles against after beating Miguel Cotto in late 2015.
Amir Khan was on a five-fight winning streak at welterweight and was on the brink of getting a title shot but fancied his chances of moving up and toppling Canelo.
Khan’s team was not convinced it was the correct move but there was no turning back as the Brit headed over to Vegas in May 2016.
On fight night, there was an obvious size difference between the two men. Although Khan was taller, Canelo was clearly carrying more weight and had more power behind his punches.
Khan started well, rattling off quick combinations to settle into the fight, and Canelo was struggling to find the target early on.
But he used his fight IQ to turn the tide, going after Khan’s body in the hope that the Olympic silver medallist would drop his guard.
That’s exactly what happened in the sixth round, and Canelo took full advantage. He unleashed a huge right hand over the top of Khan’s left hand that landed right on the chin.
Khan was out before he hit the canvas and there was no need for the referee to start the count. The fight was over, with Khan falling short of pulling off the upset victory.
Gennady Golovkin vs Kell Brook
Kell Brook and Amir Khan were mooted to fight each other in 2016, but after Khan chose to face Canelo instead, his rival went down a similar route just four months later.
In September 2016, Brook, who was the IBF welterweight champion at the time, accepted the unenviable task of taking on middleweight monster, Gennady Golovkin.
Golovkin had been knocking out everybody in his path at 160lbs but Brook was happy to move up 13lbs in weight after a proposed fight between the Kazakh star and Chris Eubank Jr fell through.
The stage was set at the O2 Arena and Brook recovered from a shaky opening round to land a peach of an uppercut in the second that got the crowd on their feet.
Across the first four rounds, there was very little to split the pair in terms of output and shots landed, but Brook’s face was showing signs of significant damage.
As the fifth round progressed, Brook was in obvious distress as he pawed at his eye and Golovkin piled the pressure on.
With the fight only heading in one direction, Brook’s trainer, Dominic Ingle, threw the towel in to allow his man to fight another day.
Brook was later diagnosed with a fractured eye socket that required surgery. He went straight back down to welterweight for his next fight but lost his IBF title to Errol Spence after suffering another eye injury.
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Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
The Eubank-Benn family rivalry was renewed earlier this year when Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn faced off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Over three decades after their fathers went toe-to-toe twice, the latest instalment of the feud certainly lived up to expectations.
The fight had been due to take place in October 2022 but was called off during fight week after Benn failed two drug tests.
Benn protested his innocence and took two fights up at 154lbs over in America to stay busy while an investigation took place, before he was finally cleared to fight again in the UK last November.
Eubank Jr and Benn, who had spent most of his career at welterweight, agreed to fight at 160lbs in April with both men promising fireworks.
That’s exactly what they delivered as their fathers proudly watched on from ringside. In the end, Eubank Jr’s size, experience and sheer will got him over the line as he finished strongly to take a unanimous decision.
They will do it all over again at the same weight on November 15, live on DAZN.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Marvin Hagler vs Sugar Ray Leonard
Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard were two of the ‘Four Kings’ in the 1980s but spent most of their careers fighting at completely different weights.
Hagler was the best middleweight on the planet after first winning his titles in 1980, while Leonard made the welterweight division his own.
It seemed unlikely that they would ever meet, especially when Leonard retired in 1984 due to a detached retina. But after a successful procedure and then seeing Hagler have some difficult moments in his fight with John Mugabi in 1986, Leonard decided to make a comeback.
He may have believed he could upset the odds, but not many others shared his optimism. Leonard had been away from the ring for three years and was the naturally smaller man. Hagler was coming towards the end of his career but was still expected to have more than enough to see off the returning Leonard.
As the fight started, it became clear how Leonard saw his path to victory. He figured that dazzling combinations would catch the eyes of the judges, and tried to time them for late in the rounds so that they stayed in the memories of those at ringside.
The gameplan worked to perfection, with Hagler growing increasingly frustrated at his lack of success.
The legendary middleweight still finished strongly as Leonard unsurprisingly tired down the stretch, and both men believed they had won at the final bell.
It was Leonard who got the nod via split decision as he proved skill can overcome size.
Hagler was disgusted with the verdict and never fought again.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao’s 2008 may be the greatest year of weight jumping boxing has ever seen.
It all started in March of that year when he won a razor-thin split decision against Juan Manuel Marquez to become the WBC and Ring super featherweight champion.
In his very next fight just three months later, Pacquiao went straight up to lightweight to knock out David Diaz for his WBC lightweight belt.
That performance got people talking about exactly how high up in weight Pacquiao could go, and he subsequently agreed to face the iconic Oscar De La Hoya at welterweight in December 2008.
De La Hoya was coming down from super welterweight to meet Pacquiao in the middle and was favoured to use his size to get the victory.
Instead, Pacquiao dished out a one-side beating as he unloaded hurtful punches on De La Hoya, leading to his corner pulling him out before the ninth round.
De La Hoya looked weight drained and never fought again after the loss, but it was still a stunning performance by Pacquiao as he demonstrated he had the power to hurt and stop much bigger men.
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