Video: Terence Crawford Wants Canelo Álvarez Fight to Cement Boxing Legacy

Doric SamJuly 23, 2024

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

As one of the best boxers in the world, Terence Crawford has many exciting potential opponents available to him, but there’s only one fight that he’s truly eyeing.

During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, Crawford made it clear that he’s open to a legacy fight against Canelo Álvarez, which he said would be more appealing than facing undefeated welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

“Being where I’m at right now, I’m looking at the fight that makes the most sense. and that’s not ‘Boots,'” Crawford said. “Canelo’s going to bring way more to my legacy, way more to my bank account, because at the end of the day when boxing is done with, what will we have? I want to have a legacy that’s something that people talk about for the ages, and not only that, I want to have a bank account that lasts as well.”

Crawford added that he understands a fight against Álvarez would likely require the financial backing of Riyadh Season promoter Turki Alalshikh.

“I think it would be everybody’s choice. Canelo would have to agree, I would have to agree, Turki would have to agree because he’s the one that’s dishing out the money, so a lot of moving parts got to be involved in that fight,” he said.

Crawford, who won titles in three divisions while spending the majority of his career competing between 135 and 147 points, said he’d be willing to make the massive jump to super middleweight for a shot against Álvarez.

“One hundred sixty-eight [pounds],” Crawford said when asked what weight he’d fight Álvarez, which would be the heaviest of his career. “If that’s the fight in front of me, then yes.”

Before a hypothetical fight against Álvarez, Crawford has more pressing matters to focus on, as he is moving up to 154 pounds to face Israil Madrimov for a vacant WBA super welterweight title at a Riyadh Season event in Los Angeles on Saturday. There is also an expectation that a rematch against Errol Spence Jr. will happen at some point down the line, though Crawford noted that it isn’t close to being official as of yet.

Still, a fight between Crawford and Álvarez would pit two of the best boxers of this generation against one another in a matchup that would surely excite fans. If Crawford gets past Madrimov on Saturday, becoming a four-division champion could allow him to dictate his next move and make his case for a fight against Álvarez even more appealing.