Terence Crawford was photographed standing next to undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, looking almost the same size as the four-belt 175-lb champion. In between fights, Crawford looks enormous in size, and it’s clear that he’s 1000% ready to take on the big dogs at 168 and 175.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh shouldn’t limit himself to just Canelo Alvarez as a potential opponent for the superstar Crawford to fight in 2025.
Beterbiev: A True Test for Crawford
With Canelo dragging his feet at the idea of fighting Crawford, Turki should focus on matching Bud against the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch on February 22nd. The 37-year-old Crawford has got the size, and he’s almost three years younger than Beterbiev, who turns 40 on January 21st.
Three absolute icons 🤩
📸 @ABeterbiev pic.twitter.com/VUquqPUzMf
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 7, 2024
If Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is serious about moving up in weight to tangle with Alvarez at 168, he might as well go up the extra seven pounds to challenge Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) for his four titles in 2025. That would be a massive legacy fight for Bud Crawford, who wants to make history before he retires.
Turki could use his quick decision-marking to cut in front of PBC, with their plans to match the winner of the February 1st fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell against the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 victor. Matching Crawford against Beterbiev would be an excellent fight against Bivol.
Who Wants It More?
We know that Crawford has worked like a politician running for office, trying to get a fight against Canelo, but it’s pretty obvious that the Mexican star has lost his ability to take risks and is afraid to face the Omaha, Nebraska native for fear of losing or looking bad. Beterbiev wouldn’t be afraid, and neither would Bivol.
A match between Crawford and Beterbiev would be more interesting because it would involve a slugger against a boxer, and that’s the kind of fight that fans would like to see. Crawford vs. Bivol would be two boxers and a lot of moving. It would be a chess match, and that’s boring for most boxing fans, who prefer to see action.
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