Terence Crawford doubts superstar Canelo Alvarez’s reasons for leaving Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was because of him or David Benavidez. He just believes Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) left the company for his reasons.
Crawford is no longer with PBC and still wants to face Canelo if given the opportunity. It’s believed by some that Canelo will turn his attention to Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) sooner or later for a mega-fight, seeing that he’s running out of viable big names for him to fight.
One way for Crawford to help make that fight a reality is if he moves up to 154, 160 or 168, because that would take away some of the criticism Canelo will receive from fans for fighting him if he’s at least near or at his weight class.
Undeterred in Pursuit of Canelo Clash
“I don’t think that’s true. I think Canelo’s reasons for moving from PBC is his own personal reasons,” said Terence Crawford to the media when asked if he believes Canelo Alvarez left PBC to avoid facing him and David Benavidez.
Now that Crawford is no longer affiliated with PBC, it makes a fight between him and Canelo easier to make. All that needs to happen is for Crawford to move up in weight and prove that he can succeed at 154 or higher.
Crawford mentioned in the same interview that he’s interested in fighting the winner of the March 30th fight between WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and Keith Thurman.
A better idea would be for Crawford to skip the 154-lb class and move up to 160 or 168. If Crawford defeats a top super middleweight like Caleb Plant, Edgar Berlanga, or David Morrell Jr., that could be the key to getting the Canelo fight.
Crawford doesn’t have the time to take things slowly by moving up in weight in increments because he and Canelo are both getting older. Canelo might get beaten or retire in the next year or two, and that would ruin things for Crawford.
“Me and Canelo have never talked about fighting. Yeah, that’s a fight that I would take in a heartbeat, and I would look forward to taking it. But, no, I don’t think he moved because of Terence Crawford or Benavidez. I just think he’s handling his career the way he wants to. It’s always possible,” said Crawford on whether a fight between him and Canelo is still possible.
