Trainer Robert Garcia doubts Terence Crawford will ever fight again if he doesn’t get the Canelo Alvarez fight he wants. Robert says former two-division undisputed champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has “nothing to prove” to anyone after the career he’s had.
Canelo hasn’t said anything about wanting to fight Crawford. So, that could be it for the Nebraska native, unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh decides he wants to take a stab at putting that fight together between them. It doesn’t look like Canelo will bother as this is a matchup that doesn’t do anything for him. Only Crawford benefits from this fight both financially and with his legacy.
Crawford is getting a huge payday out of the fight that many feel he doesn’t deserve, and if he is even competitive in a losing effort, his status will rise while Canelo’s will sink. It would be the same if Crawford were to fight someone less popular than him two to three divisions down.
Crawford would not benefit from the fight, and he would not entertain it. He won’t even fight Jaron Ennis, who competes one division below at welterweight but is less popular.
Hardcore fans who follow records and opposition do not believe that Crawford has done great things. They feel he is just another example of a fighter well maneuvered by Top Rank, who has the best matchups in the sport and suited Crawford well before he left the company in 2021 when he became a free agent .
Bud’s best wins
– Israel Madrimov
– Errol Spence
– Shawn Porter
“Kell Brook.”
– Amir Khan
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
– Ricky Burns
– Viktor Postol
“Crawford is a smart man. He has already achieved; he has done a lot. He doesn’t need to challenge himself. He doesn’t have to prove himself to anyone,” coach Robert Garcia said Battle hype when asked about his interest in Terence Crawford playing Virgil Ortiz Jr.
Crawford doesn’t have to fight someone like Vergil Ortiz Jr, but taking that fight would help his bank account. If he can’t get the Canelo fight, he has to either retire or fight one of the top 154-pounders like Vergil, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora or Serhii Bohachuk.
“I’ve talked to him personally, and my feeling is that he wants that big fight against Canelo, and if he doesn’t get it, he might never fight again,” Robert said of Crawford. “He doesn’t need anyone to push him to take on a challenge that he doesn’t have to prove anymore.”
Crawford really needs to prove himself because his resume is too thin, and he only has the win over the car crash Spence to show in terms of a win over an elite fighter. Spence was no longer elite when Crawford fought him, but casual fans don’t know that. So, Crawford can use the fake victory to pump himself up to people who only casually follow the sport.
“I don’t see him pleasing the fans just because they tell him to fight this guy or fight that guy,” Robert said. “He’s going to go out and look for the biggest fight of the night and enjoy his life. He is a very smart man. He invested his money correctly. He doesn’t have to fight once at all, but he’s still looking for that fight against Canelo. If he gets it, he will take it, but other than that he must never fight again.”
If Crawford really wanted to make more money, he would stay busy and fight as often as possible until he started losing repeatedly. For the average fan, it’s hard to understand Crawford’s attitude because most people work hard for their money, and they don’t enjoy the long vacations that Crawford does with his one-fight-a-year schedule. The ambition just isn’t there with Crawford.
“I think Crawford put in some good rounds. The first six or eight rounds will be very competitive,” Robert said of how Crawford vs. Canelo would expire. “Crawford is game. He has skills and heart. He has great speed and decent power to earn respect from Canelo. But eventually Canelo will be too big and too strong. But the first six to eight rounds he’ll put up some good rounds,” Robert said of Crawford.
The only thing about Crawford fighting Canelo is about money, not winning the fight. There is no debate as to who would win. Canelo of course. It’s just about Crawford getting a big payday out of one fight rather than sticking around and earning the same fat over four or five fights, which would be impossible for him to do because he only fights once a year. It will take Crawford four to five years to make the same money, and he’s not fighting enough to stay busy.
If Crawford were more ambitious, he would fight three times a year and not need Canelo. The problem is he’s fighting at 154 now, and those guys will beat him. He almost lost to Israil Madrimov. I watched the match and saw Madrimov win based on his clean, efficient punching. If Madrimov could do that, the other 154-pounders like Murtazaliev, Ortiz, Fundora and Bohachuk would finish what he started.
