Terence Crawford gets the fast track 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 he likely won’t get a chance to fight for the final belt until the second half of 2025. That’s if Crawford chooses to stick to his one-fight-a-year schedule. If he sticks to his annual schedule, he won’t fight for the undisputed title until 2026.
It wouldn’t be a good idea, but Crawford has been a part-time worker since 2020. He got away with it because he fought less than stellar opposition at 147. He never beat anyone special in the five years he fought. on 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 up until now, and he can’t continue that if he wants to go undefeated at 154.
For Crawford to go undisputed at 154, he needs to 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’s going to 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 Crawford will want to pick apart. We saw Terence Madrimov barely beat and punished throughout. After the fight, Crawford’s face was battered, and he still appeared swollen and bruised last month.
“Crawford is going to be able to move quickly to another unification match. So, if he has one belt now, he fights Fundora, and he has two belts. Then he has three out of four. Assuming Tim Tszyu wins his next fight, then you have a Bud-Tszyu unification match,” said Chris Algieri. Probox TVand discusses the possibility of Terence Crawford quickly positioning himself to fight for the undisputed championship at 154.
If Crawford had to win one title at a time to go uncontested the hard way, he wouldn’t be able to do it. It would take too long, and he would have to fight some young assassins like Vergil Ortiz. And Serhii Bohachuk. Who knows? Bud might not make it through those guys.
Crawford might stick around again to fight Madrimov, and you can bet he would have made changes to his game to improve in the rematch. The only thing that kept Madrimov from winning last August was not throwing enough punches in rounds 10 to 12.
Madrimov was landing the 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 against a popular A-side fighter who came into the fight as a favorite.
“This is a third reunion and four for Crawford in his career. If you can do it in two fights, it’s a fast lane, and Bud deserves it. So, that’s something that will get him motivated to go back into training camp to do what he needs to do. If he had to go get all these belts from a bunch of young, hungry fighters, that’s a different story,” Algieri said.
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 sounds like Crawford has been rich for too long and doesn’t know what it’s like to be hungry like the common working class.
“But with the way it’s expanding where you got Fundora, which is no easy task, even for Bud. Then you have a Tszyu mega fight. It’s a hell of a proposition,” Algieri said.
“If you get Crawford and Tszyu for the undisputed 154-lb title where you’re creating a legacy or you’re creating a new superstar,” Paulie Malignaggi said. “I think Tszyu has a lot of superstar potential. If he’s the one to knock off Crawford for the undisputed title, you may have created a star for the next generation.”
If Tszyu defeats Crawford, he’s not going to become a superstar because fans will downplay his victory by noting how old Bud is. He looked very old against Madrimov, and he will be a year older by the time he faces Tszyu. Do you think Crawford will stop aging? Think again. Crawford is not Benjamin Button like in the movie, and he could be in bad shape next year after a grueling battle against Fundora.
By September 2025, he could be a 50-year-old, and he’s not going to beat Tszyu in that physical condition. The only reason Tszyu lost his last fight in March to 6’6″ Fundora is because he was cut and dealing with a freakishly tall fighter.
Brian Mendoza knocked Fundora out, but he was getting battered through six rounds before getting the KO in the seventh. Mendoza is a bigger puncher than Crawford, younger and much bigger.
