Terence Crawford looks to be done for the year after his one fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3 following 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 he was hoping to get against Canelo Alvarez. It doesn’t look 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 can Chris Mbilli, Chris Eubank Jr. or fighting Hamzah Sheeraz.
The Mexican star is not interested in fighting Crawford unless he is offered a mountain of money rumored to be in the $150 million range. However, Crawford can still bring in some good dough in the remaining time he has in his career.
Crawford’s bad experience against ‘Klein GGG’ Madrimov on August 3 may have put him off fighting the other killers at 154 to fight again in 2024. At this point, it’s clear that Crawford won’t return to the ring until 2025, and it wouldn’t be surprising if it’s on the exact one-year mark of his fight against Madrimov in August.
What Crawford needs to 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 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 could move up 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 will help show fans that he is a legitimate challenger to Alvarez.
Crawford needs to show Canelo and the fans that he doesn’t just want retirement money. This is supposed to be a sport, not a retirement fund for fighters who have lost their desire to fight for belts.
Last updated on 17/10/2024
