Coach Greg Hackett says a victory for Terence Crawford over Canelo Alvarez in 2025 would make him the best fighter in the last 30 years.
For Crawford to be seen as the best fighter in the last 30 years for beating past his best Canelo, it would be ignoring a lot of great fighters who did a lot more than him.
We already know how Crawford will choose to fight Canelo by using the Mayweather blueprint of hitting and running. He’s NOT going to stand in front of Canelo and trade shots. He will play it safe and make it boring the whole time, and fans will feel angry for having wasted their money ordering the fight on PPV.
Crawford will make it boring, hit and not get hit, and try to win a decision like Mayweather did against Canelo in 2013.
Hackett already views Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) as the #1 pound-for-pound for capturing world titles in four divisions and becoming undisputed in two weight classes. It’s hard to agree with Hackett because Crawford’s wins in those four divisions have been against no one special.
If you saw Canelo’s last two fights against Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia, you’ll know that he’s looking past his prime at 34. He’s showing age in his 19th year as a pro. The first two fights against Gennadiy Golovkin took a lot out of Canelo, and he’s not looked the same since.
Measuring Crawford’s Legacy
Crawford is just another Adrien Broner in that respect. Broner also captured world titles in four weight classes, but his resume was as weak as Bud’s. It shows you how watered down the divisions are four alphabet titles for fighters to pick & choose from to capture belts with the help of their slick promoters.
Bud’s Best Wins
– Israil Madrimov
– Errol Spence
– Shawn Porter
– Kell Brook
– Amir Khan
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
– Ricky Burns
– Viktor Postol
You’d have to be simple to think those are good enough wins to make Crawford #1 p-4-p or the best fighter in the last 30 years. Based on those wins, I can only say that his promoters have matched Crawford very carefully.
Those are NOT enough fighters to give Crawford accolades for beating them because they were mostly over the hill when he fought them. Madrimov is the only one who wasn’t shot, and he came close to beating Crawford in his 12th pro fight.
If Crawford were to beat a fading 34-year-old Canelo, it wouldn’t make him the best in the last 30 years because he wouldn’t have compiled the kinds of wins that former six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya or eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao did during their careers. Those two are the best.
You can’t include Crawford because he fought a weak opposition, and the same with Floyd Mayweather Jr. He was too selective with the opposition he fought.
“Tank is a beast, but I think pound-for-pound, Bud [Crawford] is #1. A lot of times, people were doubting him. They doubted him against [Errol] Spence. They doubted him against [Israil] Madrimov. Some people say he was too small. I heard them,” said Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media about his belief that Terence Crawford should be #1 pound-for-pound.
“When he fought Viktor Postol, he [Crawford] was too small. When he fought [Yuriorkis] Gamboa, he didn’t know enough. There was a lot of s***. If he beats Canelo, he’s the baddest mother f**** in the last 30 years,” said Hackett about Terence.
“Right now in the game, it’s got to be Bud, and then probably Inoue after,” continued Hackett about his belief that Crawford should be #1 pound-for-pound in the sport. “Bud, people don’t get it. He was being counted out a long time ago. He kept winning and beat a lot of a**.
It’s too early to say that Crawford will get the fight against Canelo in 2025. Nothing is official yet, and there’s a good chance that Canelo will reject that fight. It’s a no-win type of match for Canelo, as Crawford gets more from it than he does. If he beats Crawford, there’s no real gain. Crawford beating Canelo would be huge, and the payday would also be massive. Just the money alone is a victory for Crawford.
The Limits Of Titles
“Tank has always been a 130, 135-pounder. People try to say Tank was a 126-pounder,” said Hackett. “I fought on a couple of cards with Tank. He never really made 126. I’m saying Bud was punching on s*** at 135, 140, 147, and just won a belt at 154.
“A champion at 135, undisputed at 140 and 147, right? Then won another belt at 154. He’s still undefeated,” said Hackett about Crawford. “A lot of steps up, a lot of guys that were supposed to beat him. A lot of guys that were supposed to be too big for him. Too fast, too strong. This one was supposed to be too experienced, and he beat them all. He gave Gamboa his first loss.”
Again, winning world titles in four divisions doesn’t mean that Crawford is great because he didn’t beat anyone to win his four-division titles.
Crawford’s Four-Division Title Wins
– Israil Madrimov: 154
– Jeff Horn: 147
– Thomas Dulorme: 140
– Ricky Burns: 135
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