Terence Crawford says he has no plans to retire in 2025 if he can’t deliver the Canelo Alvarez fight he’s been pushing for night and day. He claims the fight between his unified super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is the one “everyone” wants to see and will answer people’s questions.
Retirement is not inevitable
Crawford, 37, isn’t saying who he’ll fight if he doesn’t make it in his retirement fight with Golden Parachute Canelo. IBF 154 lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and IBF interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. they would be eager to fight Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). Those two champions would have aged Crawford with the wear and tear they put on it.
However, it is unrealistic that Terrence would agree to fight any of those guys because they are big shots, young bigs, and he would like to end his Canelo dream once and for all. It’s likely that if Crawford can’t get the Canelo payout, he’ll move in the direction of a fight against the WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora because he is defeatable.
Canelo vs. Crawford is NOT really the fight American fans want to see. They would prefer to see David Benavidez fight Canelo because he has earned the opportunity and is in his weight class. His Excellency Turki Alshik would like to see Canelo-Crawford, who would be seen as the second or third choice for the American public.
Fans would like to see Canelo fight either Benavides or the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch on February 22nd. Those are far better choices for Canelo than a matchup against Crawford, which would be similar to when former 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo moved up to 168 and fought Alvarez last year.
Crawford is too small, weak and old to compete with Canelo. Fans don’t want to see Crawford follow Mayweather’s plan of running and beating Canelo over 12 painfully boring rounds. This is 2024, not 2013. Fans want value for their money today.
Searching for the best opportunities
“No, not yet.” We take it day by day. Right now I’m enjoying life and I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor,” Terence Crawford told BoxNation when asked if there was any progress on the 2025 fight between himself and Canelo Alvarez.
“I wouldn’t say that.” “Right now I’m waiting on my options and I’m looking for the best opportunities and options for Terence Crawford in my career,” Crawford said when asked if he was ‘done’ with the sport if he couldn’t fight Canelo next year.
“That’s why you look and see it. It’s what everyone wants to see what we’re fighting for because everyone has answers (correction: questions) to answer. The only way they can be answered is if me and Canelo get in the ring and fight. So if we fight, everybody’s questions, the dos and don’ts, will be answered,” Terence said, explaining how a fight between him and Alvarez would play out.
