His Excellency Turki Alalshikh posted on social media today a picture of Terence Crawford with one glove emoji in what appears to be a hint of having him fight in one of his cards in Saudi Arabia.
Crawford quickly responded with wide-eyed emotion, showing his interest in fighting. Now the question is who would His Excellency Alalshikh have in mind for the 36-year-old Crawford, and whether they could agree on a price.
Crawford’s Quest for Paydays
If Alalshikh has a fight in mind between Crawford and the talented young phenom Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, he may be out of luck because Terence has already said that he brings nothing to the table. Some fans read that as code for, ‘This guy is way too dangerous for me, and I don’t want to lose to him.’
Without Alalshikh offering Crawford loads of money, he’s likely to reject that offer. Boots Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) recently signed with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who has said that he wants to make the fight with Crawford, and he believes he’ll beat him.
A lot of fans agree. They view Boots Ennis as a younger, stronger, and more talented version of Crawford. Boots is like a more entertaining, aggressive, and powerful version of Crawford. The 26-year-old Boots is a much more entertaining fighter to watch than Crawford, and that’s one reason why his popularity is already skyrocketing after just eight years as a professional.
Crawford has been in the pro ranks for 16 years, but he’s only now gained some fame, thanks to Errol Spence Jr. agreeing to fight him last July.
Before that, Crawford languished in near obscurity, fighting on cards that attracted little interest from Top Rank. When Crawford left them, he fought little-known David Avanesyan before being selected by Spence to be his opponent.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has made it known that he wants to fight undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez, but he’s not shown the same motivation to fight the welterweight because there’s nothing to gain.
Canelo: A Risky Gamble
It would be a lose-lose fight for Canelo. He wouldn’t receive credit for beating Crawford, and if he were to lose, it would be terrible for his career.
Even if Canelo struggled to win, he’d receive massive criticism and be seen as washed up or never that good. Again, there would be no gain for Canelo fighting the Nebraska native unless Alalshikh paid him a ton of money to encourage him to take the fight.
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— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) April 17, 2024