Terence Crawford could face promotional free agent middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. next in a clash that could potentially put the Nebraska native in a stronger position to get the golden parachute retirement payday fight that he’s hoping to get against undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez.
The Problem: Eubank Jr. Isn’t a Box Office Draw
Crawford vs. Eubank would be a terrible one to try and market to the U.S. public on PPV, but perhaps the UK fans would be interested in this match-up.
For some reason, Eubank Jr. is popular in the UK despite never beating anyone of note, aside from 35-year-old washed Liam Smith. As I said, Eubank Jr. has never beaten anyone worth noting.
With a win over #2 WBO and #3 WBC ranked middleweight contender Eubank Jr., Crawford can continue to call out Canelo, and he would give him partial cover fighting at 160 rather than 147.
Canelo wouldn’t have to be worried about the backlash from fans if he were to pool from the 160-lb weight class to choose Crawford.
It would still be a weak move on Canelo’s part because Crawford would be unproven, even with a win over Eubank Jr, who has never beaten anyone good during his career.
The Money Question
Terence will probably want a huge guaranteed purse, given the money he received for his last two fights against Errol Spence Jr. and David Avanesyan.
Crawford reportedly received a $25 million guaranteed purse for his fight with Spence and $10 million for his clash against Avanesyan in 2022.
That fight brought in only 120K PPV buys. Given that low level of buys, it would be interesting to know if BLK Prime lost money on the Crawford-Avanesyan event.
Question: would one of the British promoters be willing to give Crawford a $10+ million guaranteed purse for the Eubank Jr. fight?
The Smarter Path: Crawford Needs a REAL Challenge
Crawford would look better if he fought IBF/WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly, but he’s not going to do that because it would be risky, and Top Rank isn’t going to pay the giant guaranteed purses that Terence would want.
Crawford should show some courage if he wants to position himself to fight Canelo. He should forget about fighting Eubank Jr. and instead move up to 168 to take on David Morrell Jr. or David Benavidez.
Those are the two best fighters in the super middleweight division outside of Canelo, and if Crawford beats one of them, he will show fans that he’s for real.