Terence Crawford looks like he’s done for the year after his one fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3rd after a 13-month layoff.
It doesn’t look like the recently turned 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will get the lucrative legacy fight that he’s been hoping to get against Canelo Alvarez. It’s not looking good for Crawford to ever get a fight against Canelo before he retires. Canelo could move up to 175 to fight for the undisputed championship next. If he stays at 168, he could fight Chris Mbilli, Chris Eubank Jr. or Hamzah Sheeraz.
The Mexican star is disinterested in fighting Crawford unless he’s offered a mountain of money rumored to be in the $150 million range. However, Crawford can still bring in good dough in the remaining time that he has in his career.
Crawford’s bad experience against ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov on August 3rd might have scared him off from fighting the other killers at 154 to fight again in 2024. At this point, it’s obvious that Crawford won’t return to the ring until 2025, and it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s at the exact one-year mark from his fight against Madrimov in August.
What Crawford should do to help make a fight against Canelo more of a reality in 2025 is to move up to 168 and fight one of these killers this December:
– Caleb Plant
– Osleys Iglesias
– Diego Pacheco
– Edgar Berlanga
– Jaime Munguia
If Crawford isn’t willing to prove himself against one of the 168-pounders, he can move up to 160 and challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. He currently doesn’t have an opponent after wiping out Andrei Mikhailovich. If Crawford can beat Janibek, that would help show fans that he’s a legitimate challenger for Alvarez.
Crawford needs to show Canelo and the fans that he’s not just looking to get retirement money. This is supposed to be a sport, not a retirement fund for fighters that have lost their desire to fight for belts.
Last Updated on 10/17/2024
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