Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Terence Crawford is holding out waiting for the Canelo Alvarez fight, and if he doesn’t do that, he’ll retire. He says he’s made his money, is getting old, and doesn’t wish to stick around to the game to fight young lions like Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis or the 154-pound fighters.
Time is Not on Crawford’s Side
Crawford wants the Canelo fight – and the colossal wealth that comes with it – so badly that he can taste it. The money that Crawford would make fighting Canelo would be the equivalent of him fighting five to six times against the killers at 154.
Canelo has shown no interest in fighting Crawford unless he’s paid a princely sum. There were rumors of Canelo wanting $100 million+ for the Crawford fight, and if that’s accurate, I don’t think that fight will happen unless he’s willing to agree to a smaller sum.
There’s no way Crawford can stay around the sport long enough to do that, given that he only fights once a year and he’s aging rapidly. By next year, Crawford would be food for the sharks at 154, and his career would abruptly end sourly.
A Taste of 154
Hearn points out that Crawford’s (41-0, 31 KOs) close call against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov may have contributed to his lack of desire to fight the other 154-pounders. The Madrimov fight gave Crawford a glimpse of what he’d be up against if he chose to stay at 154 to win the remaining belts.
Crawford would literally have to face a gauntlet for him to become undisputed at junior middleweight, and it wouldn’t be the walk in the park that he had at 147, beating the shell of Errol Spence to win three of the titles and picking up the other belt against paper champion Jeff Horn.
“I don’t think Crawford wants a Boots fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the Matchroom Boxing channel about Terence Crawford’s lack of interest in facing Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“I don’t think Crawford will fight again unless he fights Canelo Alvarez because he’s got money; he’s getting on,” said Hearn.
What this means is that we may have seen the last of Crawford unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh can come through and offer a deal to the Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez to agree to fight him. Crawford is the one who wants this fight, not Canelo. So, it’s going to have to be a sweet deal to get the superstar to agree to this match.
