Terence Crawford turned 37 today, and many are questioning whether the four-division world champion will continue in the sport. He hasn’t talked about returning to the ring against one of the killers at 168 to continue his career, and it looks like he may be headed for retirement.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) has talked about wanting a fight against Canelo Alvarez, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. He didn’t mention a plan B option for his next fight, and it seems he’s just sitting back, hoping the Canelo mega-clash will happen.
The problem is that for Crawford to increase his chances of that fight, he will have to stay active with his career and take risks by moving up in weight to 160 and 168. He doesn’t seem interested in that.
To generate public interest in a Canelo fight, the 37-year-old Crawford needs to move up in weight and target these fighters:
– Janibek Alimkhanuly: IBF and WBO 160-lb champion
– David Benavidez
– Christian Mbilli
– Osleys Iglesias
–David Morrell
The ideal way for Crawford to get the Canelo fight is to accept the offer from David Benavidez for a fight at 168 and show the world that he can kill the ‘Mexican Monster’.
If Crawford took care of Canelo’s problem by beating Benavidez, it would put pressure on him to face the victor. Crawford probably won’t because it involves too much risk to be destroyed by the younger, bigger and stronger Benavidez.
This guy is a decade younger than Crawford at 27, and he throws fast machine gun-like punches that would be too much for him. We saw Crawford struggle with the pot shots of his last opponent, Israil Madrimov, and he looked terrible in his performance against the WBA 154-lb champion.
Still, Crawford should accept Benavidez’s offer because beating him, even by close decision, would virtually guarantee him getting the Canelo golden parachute. I would if I were Crawford, but I’m more ambitious. Crawford seems to have a sense of entitlement, as if he deserves the fight against Canelo based on his past accomplishments. However, he did not hit anyone. That’s the problem.
Staying at 154 is surely a dead end for Crawford, and he needs to understand that. He’s not going to be picked for the Canelo sweepstakes by beating Virgil Ortiz, Tim Tszyu or Sebastian Fundora. No, he needs to move up to 168 to face the goliath, Benavidez, to earn that fight.
