Trainer Robert Garcia doubts that Terence Crawford will ever fight again if he doesn’t get the Canelo Alvarez fight he wants. Robert says the former two-division undisputed champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) doesn’t have “anything to prove” to anybody after the career he’s had.
Canelo hasn’t said anything about wanting to fight Crawford. So, that might 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 because it’s a match that does nothing for him. Only Crawford gains from this fight both financially and with his legacy.
Crawford gets a giant payday out of the fight that many feel he doesn’t deserve, and if he’s even competitive in a losing effort, his status will increase while Canelo’s will sink. It would be the same thing if Crawford were to fight someone less popular than him two to three divisions below.
Crawford wouldn’t gain from the fight, and he wouldn’t 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 don’t believe that Crawford has done great things. They feel he’s just another example of a fighter well-maneuvered by Top Rank, who has the best matchmakers in the sport and matched Crawford well before he left the company in 2021 when he became a free agent.
Bud’s Best Wins
– Israil Madrimov
– Errol Spence
– Shawn Porter
– Kell Brook
– Amir Khan
– Yuriorkis Gamboa
– Ricky Burns
– Viktor Postol
“Crawford is a smart man. He already accomplished; he already did a lot. He doesn’t need to challenge himself. He doesn’t need to prove himself to anybody,” said trainer Robert Garcia to Fighthype when asked about his interest in Terence Crawford fighting Virgil Ortiz Jr.
Crawford doesn’t need to fight someone like Vergil Ortiz Jr, but it would help his bank account if he took that match. If he can’t get the Canelo fight, he should 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 feelings are that he wants that big fight against Canelo, and if he doesn’t get that, he may never fight again,” Robert said about Crawford. “He doesn’t need anybody to push him to take a challenge that he doesn’t need to prove anything anymore.”
Crawford does actually need to prove himself because his resume is too thin, and he only has the win over the car crash-wrecked Spence to show in terms of a victory over an elite fighter. Spence was no longer elite by the time Crawford fought him, but casual fans don’t know that. So, Crawford can use the fake win to pump himself up to people who only casually follow the sport.
“I don’t see him pleasing the fans just because they’re telling him that he needs to fight this guy or fight that guy,” said Robert. “He’s going to go out and look for the biggest fight of the night and enjoy his life. He’s a very smart man. He’s invested his money right. He doesn’t need to fight one single time at all, but he’s still looking for that fight against Canelo. If he gets it, he’ll take it, but besides that, he may never fight again.”
If Crawford really wanted to make more money, he would stay busy, fighting as often as he could 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 puts up some good rounds. The first six or eight rounds will be very competitive,” said Robert about how Crawford vs. Canelo would go. “Crawford is game. He has skills and heart. He has great speed and decent power to get some 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,” said Robert about Crawford.
The only thing about Crawford fighting Canelo is about money, not winning the fight. There’s no debate over who would win. Canelo obviously. This is just about Crawford getting a big payday from one fight rather than sticking around and earning the same dought over four or five fights, which would be impossible for him to do because he only fights once a year. It would take Crawford four to five years to make the same money, and he doesn’t fight enough to stay busy.
If Crawford were more ambitious, he would fight three times a year and wouldn’t need Canelo. The problem is, he’s fighting at 154 now, and those guys would beat him. He almost lost to Israil Madrimov. I watched the match and saw Madrimov win based on his clean, effective punching. If Madrimov could do that, the other 154-pounders like Murtazaliev, Ortiz, Fundora, and Bohachuk would finish what he started.
