By Chris Williams: Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford claims he will be the “puppet master” of the welterweight division. Crawford, 34, is viewed as the #1 fighter in the weight class by many fans, but he’s still largely isolated and unable to get the meaningful fights he needs to prove he’s the best.
Being the puppet master for the 147-lb division will require that Crawford step out of his comfort zone and fight these KILLERS:
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- Errol Spence Jr
- Yordenis Ugas
- Keith Thurman
Although Crawford wants to fight Spence and Ugas in the worst way, he’s not in the position to get the winner. In fact. Crawford’s chances of getting a fight against the unbeaten IBF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) are pretty low.
Crawford is in NO position to get Spence fight
It’s possible that Crawford can share the ring with Spence, provided he agrees to a lopsided 80/20 purse split that he’ll be offered for the fight. Once Spence defeats the 35-year-old WBA champion Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) in quarter one of 2022, he’ll be a three-belt champion at 147.
It’s a lot of puppets around hear I see, guess I gotta be the puppet master.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) December 22, 2021
That being the case, whatever chance Crawford had of negotiating a 50/50 even split with Spence will be down the drain. Spence will hold ALL the cards in the negotiations with Crawford, and he’ll basically tell him, ‘It’s going to be my way or the highway, Bud.’
Spence would not only hold more titles than Crawford, but he’ll also be the much bigger PPV draw. I mean, let’s not kid ourselves. Crawford ISN’T a pay-per-view attraction. He never has, and he likely never will.
For those reasons, unless Crawford is willing to agree to an 80/20 split for a fight with Spence, he’ll be ignored by the Texas native for the rest of his career.
Spence has already shown that he’s willing to write off a fighter if they don’t do what he wants him to. Look at Thurman as an example of that.
Because he chose not to fight Spence earlier in his career when Errol wanted to fight him, he’ll never get a chance ever to fight him. Spence has repeatedly said he’ll NEVER fight Thurman now because he failed to face him years ago when he was interested in sharing the ring with him.
Terence must run the gauntlet in 2022
Crawford recently parted ways with his long-time promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, and he’s decided to go it alone as a promotional free agent. However, thus far, the grass hasn’t been greener for the Nebraska native Crawford because he’s NOT been snatched up by any of the promoters.
Indeed, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn made it known that he has NOTHING for Crawford, and he won’t attempt to sign him. Crawford wants fights against Errol Spence Jr., Yordenis Ugas, and Keith Thurman, and Hearn can’t help him get those fights that he wants/needs.
It’s unclear whether WBO 147-lb champion Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) means that in the real sense or a puppet master in a fantasy make-believe sense because he’s been badly outmaneuvered by IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr.
Crawford’s only real option for lucrative fights is for him to face these thing fighters:
- Keith Thurman
- Vergil Ortiz Jr.
- Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis
The problem is, Crawford might be too old to beat Ennis at this point in his long 13-year professional career, and if he faces the young 23-year-old Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs), that fight is going to age him something fierce.
If Crawford has any hopes of beating the young lions Ennis and Ortiz, he’s got to fight them both right away in 2022. Crawford waiting until 2023 or 2024 before fighting Boots Ennis and Vergil Ortiz will work against him because he’ll be too old and worn to have much chance to beat either of them.
Crawford will have to run the gauntlet in 2022 if he wants to be the puppet master, and he might not make it through without getting beaten repeatedly by the young lions. Even the 33–year-old Thurman will be a threat to Crawford.