By Allan Fox: Terence Crawford says he will not fight catchweight lightweight Gervonta Davis at a catchweight between 135 & 147. If Tank Davis wants a fight against him, he’ll need to come up to 147, says Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs).
That’s obviously not going to happen because Tank (29-0, 27 KOs) is a bigger star than Crawford, and he’s not going to give the full advantage over him without him doing anything to meet him halfway.
This means that Crawford has whiffed on another potential mega-fight with his ham-handed ‘my way or the highway’ approach to fights. Crawford wanted a 158-lb catchweight to fight with Canelo Alvarez, who told the media today that isn’t happening.
What did the win over Errol Spence Jr. do to Crawford? Did the victory transform Crawford into a guy that is unyielding & intractable in negotiations? No wonder it took poor Spence an entire year to negotiate the fight with Crawford.
Spence should have given up on the talks at some point because he could have made more money if he’d fought three times against the contenders.
It’s too bad because Davis vs. Crawford would be a good fight if they could beat at a 138-lb catchweight with a 10-lb rehydration clause thrown in to ensure Crawford doesn’t rehydrate to 165 to 170 lbs on the morning of the fight.
“There ain’t no catchweight. You come up to 147. No, I’m not [entertaining the idea of a catchweight],” said Terence Crawford to Earn Your Leisure when asked if he would be interested in fighting lightweight champion Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis at a catchweight.
There’s going to be a catchweight if Crawford wants the fight with Tank Davis because that’s the only way he’s going to get that fight. After all, the 5’5″ Tank is much smaller, and he’s far more popular.
Crawford just seems like a guy that is content with a rematch with Spence and a potential fight against Jermell Charlo if he loses to Canelo on September 30th. If Crawford playing hardball negotiating tactics with Canelo & Gervonta, he’ll surely do that with Jerrmell, and wind up with nothing.
“What champ? Who’s undisputed at 135 lbs? Devin Haney’s got all the belts; he’s the champ, nobody else is the champ.
“Tank’s the bigger draw. There are weight classes for a reason; tell him to come up here with the big boys, and I’ll welcome him,” said Crawford about him wanting the tiny 5’5″ Tank Davis to come up to 147 without the assistance of a catchweight.
