By Don Young: Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford is looking really bulked up four months after his successful title defense against Kell Brook on November 14th. With the size that Crawford has packed on in just four months, he’s either power-feeding to bulk up to 154, or he’s really letting himself go.
WBO middleweight champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade was surprised at how big Crawford looked when the two stood side by side during the Canelo Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim fight two weeks ago.
Andrade told Crawford that he looks like a middleweight right now, and he’s right. That might be a good division for Crawford if he wants to expand his horizons and make big bank fighting 160-lb champions Gennady Golovkin, Jermall Charlo, or Ryota Murata.
Forget about 147; Crawford has a ton of options at 154 and 160. That’s really where Crawford should have been a long time ago because he’s being avoided like the plague by the PBC fighters, and it’s been like that for years.
Crawford looked more stout than Andrade, who fights at 160, and it seems clear that the Nebraska native has been eating well and hitting the weights.
There’s talk that Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) could be moving up to 154 to challenge one of the world champions in that weight class, with Jermell Charlo being a possible target.
Crawford’s promoter Bob Arum said this past week that he’d got two options for his next fight, and he’s looking at Manny Pacquiao as the Plan-A and Shawn Porter as the Plan-B.
If Crawford doesn’t move up to 154 to challenge IBF/WBA/WBC champion Jermell ‘Iron Man’ Charlo (34-1, 18 KOs), the size that he’s packed on will help him against the stocky Shawn Porter.
Regardless of what Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says about Manny Pacquiao is a strong possibility for Crawford’s next fight, Porter is the only realistic option for him at 147 for his next fight.
That’s why Crawford should quit the 147-lb division and move up to 154 or, better yet, 160, and take Golovkin’s scalp.
Kell Brook looked like a 154-pounders against Crawford, and he only lasted four rounds against him. If Crawford could beat a fighter the size of Brook, he could do the same against Jermell and Jermall Charlo at 154 and 160.
Crawford is about to turn 34, and he needs to realize that if he stays at 147, he’s not going to get the career-defining fight he’s been hoping to for the last 13 years.
It’s not going to happen, which he needs to follow in Paul Williams’ footsteps and move up to 154 or 160 to go after the bigger money fights. If nothing else, Crawford won’t be avoided in those weight classes like he is now at 147.
With the size that Crawford has put on, he’ll compete with Errol Spence Jr if the two fight this year at 147. Spence puts on a lot of weight after he rehydrates for his welterweight contests, and Crawford can’t afford to be giving away 10 to 15 lbs to Spence.