Alexis Rocha’s close but clear defeat at the hands of Rashidi Ellis in 2020 pushed him down the welterweight ladder. But while his immediate stock had plunged, he slowly but surely steadied the ship. With six consecutive victories underneath his belt, the 25-year-old now finds himself in front of the championship line.
Thanks to his awe-inspiring run, Terence Crawford, the division’s WBO titlist, was recently mandated to defend his crown against the suddenly surging contender. When last seen, the California native was busy pounding George Ashie to the tune of a seventh-round stoppage win on January 28th, earlier this year. Still, despite blasting out numerous foes over the years, Brian “Bomac” Mcintyre, trainer of Crawford, is ho-hum on Rocha’s chances in their possible showdown.
“A good sparring match,” said Mcintyre to FightHype.com. “Crawford gonna dominate his ass.”
Domination would be an appropriate word used to describe the career of the 35-year-old thus far. In addition to aggregating world titles at 135, 140, and 147 pounds, Crawford’s recent track record in the welterweight division has been extraordinary. Although fans have bellyached over his opponent selection, the Omaha, Nebraska, native has made it look incredibly easy in the ring.
At the tail end of his 2022 calendar, Crawford, after failing to secure a showdown against fellow champion Errol Spence Jr., turned his attention towards David Avanesyan. Officially, Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) would formally dismantle his man during their December bout, stopping the fringe contender in the sixth round.
In Rocha, Mcintyre doesn’t believe that he’ll pose much of a threat to the pound-for-pound luminary. But, even with McIntyre viewing him as a benign foe, that doesn’t mean he’ll have Crawford going through the motions during training camp. In his opinion, all it takes is one bad night at the pugilistic office for things to go horribly wrong.
“You still gotta be in shape for those guys. Those guys are coming in shape and they try they best to get that win. Definitely gotta be in shape.”