Promoter Eddie Hearn reiterated that Terence Crawford will never fight again unless he receives an offer for the Canelo Alvarez clash he’s waiting for.
Crawford’s Future: A ‘Good Riddance’ for Some
Fans have already given up on Crawford, viewing the soon-to-be 37-year-old as retired, and many are saying, ‘Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. You’re boring to watch and always have been.’
Terence’s resume is poor from top to bottom, filled with lesser fighters in each weight class he’s fought in. Crawford has always been a Mayweather-like fighter, whom a segment of the U.S. population would hype up, and the rest would watch him and say, ‘What is this boring junk? Where’s the excitement?’
Fans who like watching fencing with swords have enjoyed Crawford, but the ones who prefer action and entertainment value have seen him as useless. That’s why Crawford has never become a PPV attraction.
The fans have been impressed with Crawford’s lack of analytical ability because all you have to do is quickly scan his resume to note the sub-level opposition he’s fought during his 16-year career. I’m not knocking Crawford’s hustle. He’s done an excellent job of building a fluff resume that rivals Adrien Broner’s.
Crawford has always been a pure boxer, which his fans have hyped up, but he’s only once produced an exciting fight against the car crash-wrecked Errol Spence Jr.
A Style That Doesn’t Sell
Like Shakur Stevenson, Crawford’s fighting style doesn’t interest the fans demographic for fans in the U.S., who prefer entertaining fighters like Gervonta Davis, Canelo Alvarez, and Ryan Garcia.
Hearn says Crawford, 36, has gotten used to the pay he received for his last two fights against Israil Madrimov and Errol Spence.
The only one that Crawford can fight that would provide him similar money is unified super middleweight champion Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs), who has no interest in fighting him unless diamonds are rained on him. That’s only if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh still wanted that fight to happen.
If he’s lost interest, Crawford would be out of luck. He’s not a big PPV attraction, and the only successful one he’s had during his career was against Errol Spence last year. That was because of Spence’s popularity, not his.
Canelo’s Disinterest: A Polite, ‘No’
We’ve heard Canelo asking $150+ million for a fight against Crawford, which is his polite way of saying, ‘Hit the road, Crawford. You ain’t getting a fight.’ Crawford’s last performance against Israil Madrimov is a good reason why he won’t fight again unless he’s given the Canelo fight because he’d likely lose against most, if not all, of the ‘Big Four’ at junior middleweight.
If Hearn had to come up with the money to finance a Crawford vs. Boots Ennis fight on his own, he probably wouldn’t attempt it. Crawford would laugh Hearn out of the room if he made one of his lowball offers.
Hearn’s two failures this week to negotiate a unification fight for Boots against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. and being outbid by Karen Chukhadzhian showed his limitations in putting together fights involving the expenditure of money on his end.
So it shouldn’t matter if Crawford retires because Hearn has no one he can fight. Boots Ennis isn’t popular and will likely never become a PPV attraction. Without His Excellency, Hearn would be hopeless, trying to make a fight between Crawford and Boots.
Hearn’s Thoughts on Crawford’s Expectations
“I don’t think Crawford will fight again because I think he’s made really solid money in his last couple of fights. I don’t think he wants to fight Vergil Ortiz or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis,” said Eddie Hearn to Michael Benson on X about Terence Crawford.
“I think the only way Crawford will fight again is Canelo Alvarez because he’s got used to that pay. So inactive. I think he’s happy to sit out until the end of next year. He’ll be just waiting [for] the Canelo fight.”
Crawford would fight again, but only if offered the dough he got for the Madrimov and Spence fights. Even then, he might not do it if he’s worried about losing because he still hopes the Canelo golden parachute will be given to him.
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