Terence Crawford still hasn’t given any hints about when he plans to return to the ring from his victory parade following his victory over Canelo Alvarez.
Fans are questioning whether the Nebraska native will sit idle for a year as usual, reveling in his victory over the 35-year-old Mexican star on September 13, 2025. They would like to see newly crowned undisputed super middleweight champion Crawford (42-0, 31 of his four KOs) make a 9-fight defense before his 3rd birthday in September. 2026.
No source, no confirmation
“Crawford Targets Own Event in March,” said Chris Mannix Xgives no source for its Terence Crawford news on Tuesday 4 November. Since no course is offered for this information, we will place it in the rumor category.
If this information is accurate, it will not be Canelo fighting Crawford, as the Mexican star always fights on the Cinco de Mayo weekend in May. Assuming Bud holds out and waits for Canelo to give him the magic ‘Yes’ word, there’s no chance he’ll fight in March and put that fight in jeopardy.
Turki will not fund a tune-up
It would be too quick of a turnaround for Crawford, and he could lose or get beaten if he fights someone with talent. Let’s look at it this way: Turki Alalshikh isn’t going to pay Crawford $20-$50 million for a busy fight in March. He would expect value. It would be risky for Crawford to give Turki what he wants if he chooses to fight in March, then swing to potentially face Alvarez in a rematch in May 2026.
Church & MBilli factor
At 168, Crawford has these two mandatory challengers:
- Osleys Iglesias – IBF
- Christian Mbilli – WBC
The problem with those two is that they have size, talent and youth going for them. This is a form of pure krytonite for a small, aging Crawford, who barely beat Canelo with his low output style.
That approach will not work against Mbilli or Iglesias. So, that rules them out as options for Crawford’s next fight in 2026. If Terence is serious about wanting to be among the four greatest of all time on boxing’s Mount Rushmore, fighting Mbilli or Iglesias could ruin that dream.
Legacy game at middleweight
Crawford mentioned last week that he has his eye on the winner of the December 6 middleweight unification fight between Janibek Alimkhanuly and Erislandy Lara. It will be a legacy game for Terence as he moves down to 160 to fight for his sixth divisional world title.
If Crawford beats the winner of the Janibek-Lara fight, he will hold the IBF, WBA and WBO middleweight titles. With Turki Alalshikh’s involvement, he could come up with the money to encourage the last remaining beltholder Crawford would need, WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames, to challenge him for the undisputed championship.
Veteran boxing columnist Graham Ilford brings dry humor and long-deserved perspective to the sport.
Last updated on 11/05/2025
