Terence Crawford turned 37 today, and many question whether the four-division world champion will continue in the sport. He hasn’t talked about returning to the ring against one of the killers at 168 to continue his career, and it’s looking like he may be heading to retirement.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has talked about wanting only a fight against Canelo Alvarez, but that fight doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. He hasn’t mentioned a plan B option for his next fight, and it appears he’s just going to sit, hoping the Canelo mega-clash will happen.
The problem is that for Crawford to increase his chances of getting that fight, he would need to stay active with his career and take risks by moving up in weight to 160 and 168. He doesn’t seem interested in doing that.
To create public interest in a Canelo fight, the 37-year-old Crawford should move up in weight and target these fighters:
– Janibek Alimkhanuly: IBF and WBO 160-lb champion
– David Benavidez
– Christian Mbilli
– Osleys Iglesias
– David Morrell
The ideal way for Crawford to get the Canelo fight is to accept the offer from David Benavidez for a fight at 168 and show the world that he can slay the ‘Mexican Monster.’
If Crawford took care of Canelo’s problem by beating Benavidez, it would create pressure on him to face the conqueror. Crawford is probably not going to do that because it involves too much risk of getting destroyed by the younger, bigger, and stronger Benavidez.
This guy is a decade younger than Crawford at 27, and he throws rapid machine gun-like punches that would be too much for him. We saw Crawford struggle with the potshots from his last opponent, Israil Madrimov, and he looked terrible in his performance against the WBA 154-lb champion.
Still, Crawford should accept Benavidez’s offer because beating him, even by a close decision, would virtually guarantee that he gets the Canelo golden parachute. I would do it if I were Crawford, but I’m more ambitious. Crawford seems to have a sense of entitlement, as if he deserves the fight against Canelo based on his past accomplishments. He hasn’t beaten anyone, though. That’s the problem.
Staying at 154 is surely a dead end for Crawford, and he needs to understand that. He’s not going to get selected for the Canelo sweepstakes by beating Virgil Ortiz, Tim Tszyu, or Sebastian Fundora. Nah, he’s got to go up to 168 to take on the goliath, Benavidez, to earn that fight.
Read the full article here
