By Jim Calfa: Terence Crawford may need to move up to 160 if he wants the chance to fight Jermell Charlo in 2024 because that may be the only option for him.
Jermell says he may choose to sit on his new throne at 168 if he beats undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo. He feels that staying at 168 could be a good thing for him, and he may choose not to return to 154 for the Terence Crawford fight.
That shouldn’t be a big deal for Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), considering he’s already said that he’s ready to go up to 160 to fight whoever emerges victorious from the Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell contest on September 30th.
Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will have an obligatory rematch with Canelo in the first quarter of next year, possibly on Cinco de Mayo in May, and then from there, he’ll face Crawford at 160 or 168.
“I might not necessarily go back down [to 154]. I might meet him at 160,” said Jermell Charlo to Brian Custer’s Youtube channel when asked if he’ll return to 154 to face Terence Crawford after his fight against Canelo Alvarez at 168 on September 30th.
It would be silly for Jermell to return to 154 to fight Crawford if he’s victorious over Canelo. Staying at 168 makes the most sense, as there are bigger fights available to Charlo in that weight division than at junior middleweight.
The only reason it would make sense for Jermell to return to the 154-lb division is if Canelo beats him on September 30th. If Jermell loses, he’ll have no choice but to return to 154.
It would be better for Jermell to move to 160 rather than going back to 154 because there would be some good fights available for him there, and it would be easy to capture a world title.
“Terence Crawford isn’t the mega-fight to make. I’m the mega-fight. Once I beat Canelo, and I have that throne, and I’m the undisputed champion at 168, what are you going to do?” said Jermell.
Without question, Jermell would be the A-side in fight negotiations with Crawford, and he wouldn’t need to return to 154 to make that match-up happen. Jermell could tell Crawford to meet him at 160 o 168; if he refused, he’d be out of luck.
Crawford’s plans to retire in three fights puts him in a position where he can’t afford to drag his feet with prolonged negotiations like he did with Errol Spence Jr.
Unless Crawford wants to stick around the sport until he’s 40, he needs to get the fights made quickly, one after another.
