Terence Crawford may hang up his gloves if he doesn’t get the Canelo Alvarez fight he’s impatiently waiting for since his win over Israil Madrimov last August.
It’s believed that only the whiff of the Canelo money will get Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) out of his bed and into the gym to resume training to continue his career. The Nebraska native Crawford made a lot of dough in his last two fights against Madrimov and Errol Spence.
So, he doesn’t need to return to work like normal folk working for a living. Without the driving force of having to pay bills and feed a family, Crawford can afford to sit and wait for the Canelo offer to drop from the sky.
“Crawford talks about retiring if he doesn’t get Canelo,” said commentator Todd Grisham to DAZN Boxing about what Terence Crawford will do next.
“I think it’s Canelo or bust,” said Ade Oladipo about Crawford.
“That’s always been my read from Crawford’s camp,” said Chris Mannix.
“How much did he make for his last fight, Terence Crawford?” said Grisham.
“I don’t know that. He was around $25 million for Errol Spence,” said Mannix about Crawford.
“What’s the motivation to get in there with Boots really?” said Grisham. “Canelo is like, ‘What do I get for fighting this guy?”
“He even said to me in the ring about why he wants that Canelo fight. ‘It’s not so much that I want it. It’s the payday that comes with it, a nice check that comes along with it,’” said Mannix, discussing Crawford’s rationale for wanting to fight Canelo.
Crawford’s reason for wanting the Canelo fight, focusing on just money, is why he probably won’t get it because he’s forgetting that this is a sport. To get that fight, Crawford must continually compete against the best and fight more than once a year.
Unfortunately, Crawford hasn’t stayed busy, and he hasn’t been fighting the best, apart from his match against Israil Madrimov.
Crawford Fights Since 2020
– Israil Madrimov
– Errol Spence: *Post car crash
– David Avanesyan
– Shawn Porter
– Kell Brook
“That’s the only fight out there that generates the kind of revenue that can get Terence Crawford out of bed, back in the gym, and ready for a big fight. I know Teofimo is out there trying to make something happen.”
For Crawford not to want to stay busy making millions against other fighters not named Canelo is surprising, and it shows a lack of ambition on his part. Why wouldn’t he? If he wants the Canelo to fight badly enough, he can improve his chances of getting it by keeping his popularity high by taking on Jaron Ennis, Vergil Ortiz, Bakhram Murtazaliev, and Sebastian Fundora.
“I know Vergil [Ortiz] is out there probably trying to make something happen, but the only guy that I think can get Terence Crawford back in the ring is Canelo Alvarez,” said Mannix.
Crawford’s chances of fighting Canelo will be hurt if he sits out of the ring, waiting and hoping that the Mexican star blesses him. It’s not a good sign for Crawford if Canelo’s management hasn’t contacted him yet about [putting a fight together for May 2025.
If Crawford is going to sit like a bump on a log and hope that the fight will drop into his lap from the forces of gravity without him needing to work for it, he’s going to end up with nothing. What Crawford needs to do to improve his chances of landing the mega-retirement paycheck is to move up to 168 and fight these three:
- Osleys Iglesias
- Diego Pacheco
- Jaime Munguia
I would add Christian Mbilli, but he’s been having injury problems, and he’s already the WBC mandatory for Canelo’s 168-lb title. Mbilli is not going to put that at risk.
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