Terence Crawford gets the quick treatment at 154, putting him in a position to challenge the undisputed champion in two fights. It’s easier said than done.
Crawford turns 38 next year, and likely won’t have the chance to fight for the final belt until the second half of 2025. That’s if Crawford chooses to stick with his one-fight-a-year schedule. If he sticks with his annual schedule, he won’t fight for the undisputed until 2026.
It wouldn’t be a good idea, but Crawford is a part-timer since 2020. He got away with it because he fought less stellar opposition at 147. He never beat anyone special in the five years he fought. to 147 from 2018 to 2023.
When Crawford finally fought someone with talent against Madrimov at 154, you could see the effects of age and inactivity. He’s gotten away with being a part-time fighter so far, and he can’t keep doing that if he wants to become undisputed at 154.
In order for Crawford to become undisputed at 154, he must win these fights:
- Sebastian Fundora: WBC and WBO
- Tim Tszyu vs. Bakhram Murtazaliev winner: IBF
Assuming Crawford defeats Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) next, he will likely face Tszyu for the undisputed championship in the second half of 2025. It will be a tough fight for Crawford because Tszyu is young and has similar power. to that of Israil Madrimov.
Think of Tszyu as a busier, more aggressive version of Madrimov, who will be looking to take on Crawford. We saw how Terence barely beat Madrimov and was punished throughout. After the fight, Crawford’s face was covered, and he still looked swollen and bruised last month.
“Crawford is going to be able to speed up another unification matchup. So if he has a belt now, he will fight Fundora, and he has two belts. So he has three out of four. Assuming Tim Tszyu wins his next fight, then you have a Bud-Tszyu matchup for the entire unification,” said Chris Algieri to Probox TVDiscussing the possibility of Terence Crawford quickly positioning himself to fight for the undisputed championship at 154.
If Crawford had to win a title at a time to become undisputed the hard way, he couldn’t do it. It would take too much time, and he had to fight some young assassins like Vergil Ortiz. And Serhii Bohachuk. Who knows? Bud might not go through with those guys.
Crawford could be stuck fighting Madrimov again, and you can bet he would have made changes in his game to improve in the rematch. The only thing that kept Madrimov from winning last August was that he didn’t throw enough punches in rounds 10 to 12.
Madrimov was landing much harder and cleaner shots against Crawford. If his name was Canelo Alvarez instead of Madrimov, the judges probably would have given him the win because he fought well enough to deserve the win. It’s hard to be the B-side going up against a popular A-side fighter who came into the fight as the favorite.
“It’s a third unification and four for Crawford in his career. If you can do that in two fights, it’s a fast track, and Bud deserves it. So, this is something that would motivate him to go back to the training camp to do what he has to do. If he had to go around and collect all these belts from a bunch of hungry young fighters, that’s another story,” said Algieri.
If Crawford can’t be motivated to return to training camp with the money he’s getting, that’s a sad statement. Where is the ambition? It seems Crawford has been rich for too long and doesn’t know what it’s like to be hungry like the normal working class.
“But with the way this is going where you have Fundora, which is not an easy task, even for Bud. Then you have a mega-fight Tszyu. It’s a hellish proposition,” said Algieri.
“If you get Crawford and Tszyu for the undisputed 154 lb title where will you create a legacy or create a new superstar,” said Paulie Malignaggi. “I think Tszyu has a lot of superstar potential. If he is the one to knock out Crawford for the undisputed title, you may have created a star for the next generation.”
If Tszyu defeats Crawford, he won’t become a superstar because fans will downplay his victory by noting Bud’s age. He looked very old against Madrimov, and he will be a year older than he is against Tszyu. Do you think Crawford will stop aging? Think again. Crawford is no Benjamin Button like in the movie, and could be in bad shape for next year after a troubled fight against Fundora.
In September 2025, he may be a 50-year-old, and he will not beat Tszyu in that physical state. The only reason Tszyu lost his last fight in March against the 6’6″ Fundora is because he was cut and it was a freakishly tall fighter.
Brian Mendoza knocked Fundora down, but took a beating through six rounds before scoring the KO in the seventh. Mendoza is a bigger puncher than Crawford, younger and much bigger.
