Terence Crawford looks like he’s done for the year after his fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3 after a 13-month layoff.
It doesn’t look like the 37-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is going to get the lucrative legacy fight he hopes to get against Canelo Alvarez. It’s not 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 not interested in fighting Crawford unless he is offered a mountain of money which is said to be in the range of $150 million. However, Crawford can still bring in some good dough in the remaining time he has in his career.
Crawford’s bad experience against ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov on August 3 could have scared away the other killers at 154 to fight again in 2024. At this point, it is obvious that Crawford will not return to the ring until 2025, and it wouldn’t be. it would be surprising if it is at the exact one year mark since his fight against Madrimov in August.
What Crawford should do to help make a fight against Canelo more of a reality in 2025 is move up to 168 and fight one of these killers in December:
– Caleb Plant
– Osleys Iglesias
– Diego Pacheco
– Edgar Berlanga
– Jaime Munguia
If Crawford is not willing to test himself against one of the 168-pounders, he can move to 160 and challenge. Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF and WBO middleweight titles. He currently has no opponent after eliminating Andrei Mikhailovich. If Crawford can beat Janibek, it would help show fans that he is a legitimate challenger for Alvarez.
Crawford needs to show Canelo and the fans that he’s not just looking to get retirement money. This should be a sport, not a retirement fund for fighters who have lost their desire to fight for belts.
Last updated on 10/17/2024
