Terence Crawford hasn’t spoken up about his plan B option if Canelo Alvarez refuses to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against him in 2025.
If the superstar Canelo rejects the idea of fighting Crawford, it’s going to put the Nebraska native in a position where he might have to swallow his pride and face the young phenom Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because that would be his best bet for a big payday before he hangs up his gloves.
Crawford’s Focus on Canelo Payday
“Where I’m at right now, I’m looking at the fight that makes the most sense and that’s not Boots,” said Crawford to Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel. “Canelo’s going to bring way more to my legacy and way more to my bank account.”
Crawford makes it clear with this comment that he wants Canelo for the payday, and that’s got to be off-putting for the Mexican star because a whole bunch of other fighters view him in the same regard. For Crawford to be begging for the fight against Canelo, that’s got to be unappealing.
If Crawford showed initiative by moving up to 168 to earn his spot like other hard-working fighters at super middleweight, Canelo might be willing to give him a chance to face him. But for Crawford to move up three weight classes for what he openly admits is the money, there’s nothing it for Canelo other than helping out an older fighter on his way out the door.
Crawford’s Options: Limited & Risky
Assuming Canelo stands firm with his decision not to fight Crawford, these are options for Terence before he retires:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is the perfect plan B fight for Crawford to show that he can beat his mirrored half, who is younger, stronger, and has a more entertaining style than he has ever had during his career. Ennis is an entertainer who comes to fight. He doesn’t mess around with changing stances and all the stuff that held Crawford back all these years and prevented him from becoming popular.
– Sebastian Fundora: ‘The Towering Inferno’ isn’t popular enough to provide Crawford with the golden parachute payday that he’s looking to get before retiring.
– Tim Tszyu: This is another non-popular fighter that Crawford wouldn’t get big money fighting. The former WBO 154-lb champion Tszyu lost his last fight against Fundora, and he’s trying to rebuild.
– Errol Spence: *rematch. There’s no interest from fans in seeing a rematch between Crawford and Spence ever happening. Fans would turn off their sets even if they were on free TV. Unless Crawford is truly desperate and risk-averse, a rematch with Spence isn’t a feasible option.
– Vergil Ortiz Jr.: He is not well known enough and undependable due to his history of health problems. This would be a potential nightmare for Crawford if he chose to go the route of Vergil Jr, who could pull out repeatedly with different ailments.
– David Benavidez: This would be the ultimate risk for Crawford if he wants to earn a fight against Canelo. Defeating ‘The Mexican Monster’ Benavidez would be the perfect way for Crawford to cement his position for the Canelo payday. However, Crawford isn’t going to within 1000 miles of Benavidez because he knows what would happen if he mixed it with this kind of fighter. It would be like feeding a hungry lion a pork chop.
None of these fighters will be realistic options for Crawford if he doesn’t win his next fight against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s card at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
I expect Crawford to lose to Madrimov because it’s a step too far for him, moving up to 154, facing the biggest puncher if his career, and never having fought anyone talented before.
Crawford’s 16-year resume is weak, and he now believes he can walk on water after beating a bunch of flawed fighters. Hardcore boxing fans know Crawford’s career resume, but teh casuals are in the dark, thinking he’s fought the best. He hasn’t.
A loss for Crawford against Madrimov will put him in a situation where he’ll need to fight him in a rematch or face the young lion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who views him as a stepping stone.
If Crawford stays at 154, his chances for a giant payday are slim because the division lacks popular fighters. There would be no interest from fans in seeing a rematch between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. after last year’s mismatch.
Other top 154-pounders, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortz Jr., and Tim Tszyu, lack the popularity Crawford needs to fight and make the money he wants before he sails off into the sunset. With the money Crawford is looking to get before packing it in, he’s not going to be happy fighting any of those no-names.
The only guy that Crawford can fight to get a big payday is Boots Ennis, and he has to be willing to potentially suffer an embarrassing loss against this talented 27-year-old.
Some feel that Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) would just grind the 37-year-old Crawford down just like he did the 35-year-old David Avanesyan on July 13th, breaking him down with pressure. It’s no secret that Crawford rarely fights anymore, fighting just once a year and never against anyone near the level of Boots Ennis.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has made it clear that his rationale for fighting Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) for these two reasons:
- Money
- Legacy
Canelo gets nothing out of a fight against Crawford but hate from fans, who will criticize him nonstop whether he wins or loses. There’s nothing to gain for Canelo to face Crawford unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh pays him untold riches for the fight.
It would have to be an absurd amount of dough to motivate the 34-year-old Canelo to help Crawford with a fight for which only he will receive credit. Without Canelo being offered a treasure chamber worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds, fighting Crawford is pointless. There’s no gain for Canelo because he will receive a heap of criticism from fans, even if he blasts the money-hungry Crawford to planet Neptune.
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