Crawford Not Retiring If Canelo Mega-Fight Fails In 2025

Terence Crawford says he’s not planning on retiring in 2025 if he can’t bag the Canelo Alvarez fight he’s been pushing for night & day. He claims that a fight between him unified super middleweight champion Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is one that “everybody” wants to see and will answer people’s questions.

Retirement Not Imminent

Crawford, 37, doesn’t say who he’ll fight if he fails to land the Canelo golden parachute retirement fight. IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and IBF interim champ Vergil Ortiz Jr. would be eager to fight Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs). Those two champions would age Crawford with the wear & tear they put on him.

However, it’s unrealistic that Tererence would agree to fight either of those guys because they’re huge punchers, young big, and would be looking to end his Canelo dream once and for all. It’s likely that if Crawford can’t get the Canelo payday, he’ll go in the direction of fighting WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian ‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora because he’s beatable.

Canelo vs. Crawford is actually NOT the fight that U.S. fans want to see. They’d prefer to watch David Benavidez take on Canelo because he’s earned the opportunity and is around his weight class. His Excellency Turki Aalshikh would like to see Canelo-Crawford, which would be seen as a second or third choice for the U.S. public.

Fans would like to see Canelo fight either Benavidez or the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch on February 22nd. Those are far better choices for Canelo than a match against Crawford, which would be similar to when former 154-lb champion Jermell Charlo moved up to 168 and fought Alvarez last year.

Crawford is too small, weak, and old to compete with Canelo. Fans don’t want to see Crawford follow the Mayweather blueprint of running and clinching Canelo for 12 painfully boring to watch rounds. This is 2024, not 2013. Fans want value for their money nowadays.

Seeking the Best Opportunities

“No, not yet. We’re taking it day by day. Right now, I’m enjoying life and enjoying fruits of my labor,” said Terence Crawford to BoxNation when asked if there’s any movement on a fight between him and Canelo Alvarez for 2025.

“I wouldn’t say that. Right now, I’m waiting on my options and looking for the best opportunities and options for Terence Crawford in my career,” said Crawford when asked if he’s ‘done’ with the sport if he can’t get the Canelo fight next year.

“That’s why you watch it and see. That’s what everybody wants to see what we fight for because everybody has answers [correction: questions] that need to be answered. The only way they can be answered is if me and Canelo get in the ring and we fight. So, if we do fight, everybody’s questions and do’s and don’ts will be answered,” said Terrence, explaining how a fight between him and Alvarez would play out.