Alex Raskin
Updated on July 14, 2024 at 12:14 and July 14, 2024 at 12:24
There's a reason boxing fans are complaining about 2024.
Given the pay-per-view prices, Ryan Garcia's positive steroid test and the sport's constant efforts to create compelling bouts, there's not much to take home.
Sure, Oleksandr Usyk briefly became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000, but within weeks of his dramatic win over Tyson Fury, the Ukrainian icon was forced to vacate his IBF belt due to the same procedural nonsense that has plagued the sport for years.
According to perhaps the world's best pound-for-pound boxer, what boxing needs is “the best fighting the best.”
“I think boxing should be digging up fights that need to be made, rather than saying, 'This guy's not for sale.'” [pay per views]”This guy's not ready,” or “This guy didn't perform well in his last fight,” unbeaten Terence Crawford told DailyMail.com while promoting his junior middleweight debut against Israil Madrimov on August 3. “Fighters should fight each other and the best fighter in the weight class should fight the best fighter in the weight class.”
It's not just weight class fighting that Crawford is talking about. When asked if he thinks a fight between himself and super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is possible, the 36-year-old didn't hesitate: “I definitely think it's a realistic fight. I definitely think it's going to happen, and we'll see what happens.”
Click here to resize this module
“I think it will sell everywhere,” he continued. “I don't think it matters what state the fight is in. I think the fight will sell itself.”
The two of them will have no shortage of options.
Besides Las Vegas, boxing's commercial capital, Alvarez could choose the AT&T Stadium outside Dallas, where he has drawn big crowds in the past, or accept a big offer from Saudi Arabia. Los Angeles, where Crawford faces Madrimov next month, is also a viable location for a big pay-per-view event.
In short, Crawford vs. Canelo is a once-in-a-lifetime fight that could generate huge revenue, define the fighters' careers, and put an end to boxing's current slump.
But Crawford (40-0) can’t afford to think too far ahead.
Known as Bud, he says his “main focus” is on Aug. 3 against Madrimov, the 29-year-old from Uzbekistan who has a 10-0-1 record and is the current WBA super welterweight champion.
“I think his movement, his power, his size, his durability and his unconventional moves make him special,” Crawford said when asked to compare Madrimov to other challengers. “All of those things make him different from other fighters. [I’ve seen].
The danger is that Crawford has been away from the ring since his ninth-round TKO win over Errol Spence Jr. on July 29, 2023 in a welterweight title unification bout.
Of course, Crawford isn't necessarily concerned about ring rust.
“I think the rust in the ring is a two-fold thing,” Crawford said. “It's good for the fighter because it gives the body a rest.”
“Or it could work against him. He hasn't been in the ring for a while so the timing will be off.”
When asked how he felt about the Madrimov fight, Crawford answered without hesitation: “I'm OK.”
Plus, the rust on the ring isn't entirely his fault.
Crawford was hoping to make 2024 a busier one, but despite lengthy correspondence with Spence's team, a rematch never materialized.
“I would have liked to have been busier before this, but the restrictions in my contract with Spence and I meant I couldn't be as busy as I would have liked,” Crawford said. “But the future is bright and I'm looking forward to getting busier.”
Crawford, as always, is patient in a business that can sometimes feel like an unregulated black market, but while he describes himself as a “victim” of the industry (he's sued former promoter Top Rank, who he believes has denied him access to big fights in the past), Crawford has no plans to quit.
He is excited about moving up to super welterweight, saying the weight class is becoming more competitive because “there are a lot of fighters moving up from 147 to 154.”
At the same time, “there aren't a lot of champions,” he said, making the weight class one of the most competitive in boxing.
When asked if he needed to be stopped in the ring before considering retirement, Crawford said no.
“Obviously, I can't keep boxing forever,” he said. “Time will tell. [tell],I know?
Crawford said he hasn't yet discussed the decision with his family, and that his six children aren't yet ready for him to be a stay-at-home dad.
“My kids think I'll be boxing until I'm 100,” he said.
That may be a stretch, but the Omaha native still wants to add a few more things to his resume, including the possibility of becoming a champion in a fourth weight class (he already holds titles at 135, 140 and 147 pounds) and the chance for a big-money fight with Canelo.
