By Allan Fox: Terence Crawford has won a fan for life after defeating Amir Khan a year ago by a sixth-round stoppage in April 2019. The former IBF/WBA light-welterweight champion Khan (34-5, 21 KOs) rates Crawford highly after his defeat, and he says he’s superior to every fighter he’s faced as a professional, which includes Canelo Alvarez.
Khan says he thinks Crawford would beat Floyd Mayweather Jr, and he gives him a shot at defeating Errol Spence Jr and Manny Pacquiao as well. However, Khan doesn’t say whether he thinks that Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) would have beaten Mayweather in his prime.
That’s a different story than saying Crawford would defeat Mayweather now, given that he’s 43-years-old and hasn’t faced a real professional boxer since 2015.
Mayweather’s last fight against a real fighter was against shopworn Andre Berto, and that was five years ago. Since then, Mayweather fought against UFC fighter Conor McGregor in 2017, which was sanctioned as a professional match by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Few boxing fans would agree that Crawford is a better fighter than a prime Mayweather. He’s considerably slower than Mayweather was in his prime, and his counter-punching game wouldn’t be as effective against him.
Khan raves about Crawford
“Look, when I was in the ring with him, after one or to rounds, I started to get my rhythm, but I have to say he’s the best fighter I’ve faced,” said Amir Khan to Fighthub about Terence Crawford. I’ve faced the likes of Canelo.
“Every fighter I’ve lost previously is when I was up on points, and obviously got caught with a big shot and was knocked out or whatever. With Crawford, his timing was so on point.
“What a great fighter he was, a technician. His timing was amazing, and everything he had about the game plan that he had with the game plan for the fight.
Khan said that Crawford is the best fighter he’s faced doesn’t mean that he believes that he would beat Canelo. If Khan believes that, then it’s troubling. Crawford would be too weak and too light for him to defeat a tremendous puncher like Canelo.
Khan was doing well against Crawford last year up until the fight was halted after he hit him with a low blow. When you compare what Briedis Prescott, Canelo, and Danny Garcia all did to Khan in beating him, you can’t agree that Crawford is the best he’s faced.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hws-4eDDchw&t=158s
If you go by results, Crawford isn’t the best. It took him six rounds to stop Khan, and he did it with a lot of blow. At the time, it looked like Crawford lost his cool after Khan started to have some success in landing shots in the sixth.
The next thing you know it, Crawford hit Khan with a shot well below the belt, and it looked intentional to some boxing fans. Only Crawford knows if he hit Khan low out of frustration or if it was accidental.
Terence beats a lot of the top 147-pounders
“He’s a brilliant fighter,” Khan continued about Crawford. “You cannot take that away from him. If he were to fight any welterweights, be it, Manny Pacquiao, being Errol Spence, and Floyd Mayweather, I think Crawford would beat a lot of them, maybe all of them.
“I think the only fighter that would be a good fight for him technically would be Mayweather, but I really think he’d beat Mayweather as well,” said Khan.
It would be interesting to see how well Crawford would do against WBA welterweight champion Pacquiao and IBF/WBC champ Errol Spence Jr. Not just them, though.
It would be exciting to see how well Crawford would do against Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, Vergil Ortiz Jr, and Keith Thurman. Maybe Crawford beats all of them, as Khan says, but perhaps he doesn’t.
The pre-car accident version of Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) would give Crawford a lot of problems with his power and pressure.
Crawford hasn’t fought a slugger like Spence during his 12-year professional career, and he would be dealing with baptism under fire.
Thurman would be a nightmare for Terence
An in shape, injury-free Keith Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs) would give Crawford a lot of problems as well. Unlike Khan, Thurman wouldn’t quit after getting hit with a low blow in round six.
Crawford would have to count on dealing with Thurman for a lot longer than six rounds, and he would be getting hit a lot. We haven’t seen Crawford in with many punchers during his career.
The closest thing to a puncher that Crawford has faced is ‘Mean Machine’ Egidijus Kavaliauskas last December. Kavaliauskas was a limited fighter, who backed into a title shot against Crawford following a controversial 10 round draw in March of last year against Ray Robinson.
Thurman would give Crawford a lot of problems with his power, speed, and just general toughness. Crawford would find himself in a real fight for the first time in his career against a guy like Thurman, and he may not be ready for that.
Khan favors Roy Jones Jr over Mike Tyson
“I like them both, they’re both legends to me,” said Khan about Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. “I look up to both fighters, and secondly, I feel like they shouldn’t be in the ring together.
“They’re legends, why come in the ring? What’s making them come and fight? They don’t need to change their legacy, and one punch can change their life. They can get hurt badly.
“One punch can definitely hurt them. I don’t know what’s made Mike and Roy fight each other. I mean, they might be friends, I don’t know. But who’s going to win this fight? Roy Jones, in my opinion,” Khan said in picking Jones to defeat Tyson.
“Look, I’m more close to Mike than I am with Roy, but I just think with Roy, it’s the speed he still has. He’s a little bit younger and has had less wars than Mike Tyson.
“Even though Mike Tyson looks amazing on the pads and looks amazing on the mitts when I’ve seen him on Facebook and social media.
“But I just think that fighting or eight rounds, which I think it’s eight rounds, isn’t it? Fighting eight three minute rounds is not easy,” said Khan.
Khan’s pick of 52-year-old Roy Jones Jr over Mike Tyson is an unusual one, given how Roy’s history of suffering knockouts.
Will ‘Iron’ Mike run out of gas?
His last knockout loss to Enzo Maccarinelli in 2015 was scary to watch. Jones was out cold in the 4th round after getting clipped by a big shot from the former WBO cruiserweight champion Maccarinelli.
It’s going to be difficult for Jones to make it out of the first round, let alone win the fight. Anything possible, though. If Tyson’s lungs aren’t up to the task of fighting three-minute rounds, Roy could take him into deep waters and drown him.
For Tyson, that’s probably the 4th round. That’s the round he gassed out in for his last two contests against Kevin McBride and Danny Williams in 2005 and 2004.
Roy has an advantage over the 54-year-old Tyson in that he’s been active in the last five years.
In Jones’ last fight in 2018, he beat journeyman Scott Sigmon by a 10 round unanimous decision. Going ten rounds is impressive for a fighter in their 50s, and Roy showed in that fight that he still has stamina.