Terence Crawford was photographed standing next to undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, who looks almost the same size as the four-belt 175-lb champion. Between fights, Crawford looks enormous in size, and it’s clear that he’s 1000% ready to take on the big dogs at 168 and 175.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh shouldn’t limit himself to just Canelo Alvarez as a potential opponent for superstar Crawford to fight in 2025.
Beterbiev: A real test for Crawford
With Canelo dragging his feet on the idea of ​​fighting Crawford, Turki should focus on pitting Bud against the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch on February 22 to match. The 37-year-old Crawford has the size, and he is almost three years younger than Beterbiev, who turns 40 on January 21.
Three absolute icons 🤩
📸 @ABeterbiev pic.twitter.com/VUquqPUzMf
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 7, 2024
If Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is serious about moving up in weight to tangle with Alvarez at 168, he might as well put on the extra seven pounds to challenge Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) for his four titles in 2025. This will be a massive legacy battle for Bud Crawford, who wants to make history before he retires.
Turki could use his quick decision making to cut before PBC, with their plans to match the winner of the February 1st fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell against the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 victor. Matching Crawford against Beterbiev would be an excellent matchup against Bivol.
Who wants it more?
We know that Crawford has been working like a politician running for office trying to get a fight against Canelo, but it’s pretty clear that the Mexican star lost his ability to take risks and is afraid to face the Omaha, Nebraska native for fear of losing or looking bad. Beterbiev would not be afraid, and neither would Bivol.
A fight between Crawford and Beterbiev would be more interesting because it would involve a fight against a boxer, and that’s the kind of fight fans want to see. Crawford against Bivol would be two boxers and move a lot. It would be a chess match, and that’s boring to most boxing fans, who prefer to see action.
