Terence Crawford wants that one last massive paycheck before he bids goodbye to the world of boxing. The 36-year-old fighter has no intention of fighting up-and-coming prospects anymore. A legacy-defining fight with a man who has all but made it into the boxing Hall of Fame—Canelo Alvarez—is all he seeks.
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“Where I’m at right now, I’m looking at the fight that makes the most sense and that’s not Boots. Canelo’s gonna bring way more to my legacy and way more to my bank account,” Bud Crawford told Ariel Helwani in an interview. Furthermore, after Canelo beat Edgar Berlanga on September 14, the Nebraska native went live on Instagram to call out ‘Cinnamon’ while seated cage side at the Sphere with HE Turki Alalshikh. “Just put me in the game. Canelo-Crawford, the biggest fight in boxing. But we stay ready, though. That way, we don’t got to get ready.” Safe to say, ‘Bud’ desperately wants that retirement fight.
However, one person who is against the idea of Terence Crawford fighting Canelo Alvarez is Mike Tyson. Recently, Tyson sat down with Cam’ron and Mase on the ‘It Is What It Is’ podcast for an interview and discussed why the two-division undisputed champion fighting the unified super-middleweight champion is a bad idea. When Cam’ron asked, “What do you think about Terence Crawford calling out Canelo?” Tyson immediately responded with: “I don’t like that fight.”
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Explaining the reasoning behind his assertion, Tyson highlighted the size difference between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. The Mexican boxing icon is a natural 168-pounder while Crawford last fought in the 154lbs weight limit against Israil Madrimov in August of this year. In order for the fight to come to fruition, Crawford has to jump up two weight classes to throwdown with Canelo Alvarez in the ring.
Additionally, according to Tyson, Terence Crawford struggled against Madrimov, even though he won the fight. “Too much weight (for Crawford). He had a close fight with the last guy (Madrimov) he fought because he was big and really awkward. He shouldn’t have even fought that guy,” Mike Tyson added.
Echoing Tyson’s opinion, even Eddie Hearn had stated in an earlier interview that Canelo Alvarez would hesitate to fight Terence Crawford.
Canelo vs Terence Crawford—A massive mismatch?
Canelo Alvarez’s former promoter Eddie Hearn stated in an interview that Canelo Alvarez wasn’t “crazy” about fighting Crawford because of the massive gulf in weight between them, and therefore he wouldn’t be getting any “credit” even if he wins the fight. “He just felt that you have got a welterweight coming up to light-middleweight, going up to super-middleweight and that he wouldn’t get any credit for that win,” the Matchroom Boxing head stated.
“I don’t think that Crawford is a guy that he would necessarily be picking. I think that he would pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he would get the credit for that victory, whereas he might not for fighting a guy that is three or four divisions lower,” he further said.
As things stand, Canelo Alvarez has put a price tag of $150 million to be lured into a fight with ‘Bud’. The most sought-after matchmaker in the business HE Turki Alalshikh has refused to concede to Canelo’s demands. It remains to be seen if the Adviser to the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia will go in for a second round of negotiations with Canelo, and be able to deliver Crawford his dream matchup.
Nevertheless, do you agree with Mike Tyson’s assertion that Bud should not be fighting Canelo at 168lbs? Let us know in the comment section below.
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Gokul Pillai