Andre Ward says people used a “smear campaign” to try and “bury” Terence Crawford leading up to his title fight against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Ward states that “they” said Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) wasn’t a draw, and couldn’t talk. He didn’t mention that fans believe Crawford has no charisma, a dull fighting style, rarely fights, and has minimal presence on social media.
Did Crawford change any minds?
It’s questionable whether Crawford changed the fan’s perception of him after last Saturday, as his performance against Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) was low-level entertainment. He moved constantly, rarely engaging, and not standing in the trenches to make the fight thrilling.
Turki Alalshikh had said at the final press conference, “I want to see blood, smashed faces, and broken bones.” How could we see any of that with Crawford running all over creation last Saturday?
Ward’s emotional defense of Crawford
“They tried to bury Terence Crawford to say he wasn’t a draw when the numbers were there for you to see. It was a smear campaign with his personality. ‘He doesn’t talk. Nobody wants to hear him.’ No, you don’t want to hear him,” said an emotionally sounding Andre Ward on the All The Smoke channel, getting worked up over Terence Crawford’s win over Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford hasn’t been a big draw, and numbers reflect that. Before last Saturday’s fight with Canelo, the only time Terence drew large crowds was when he fought Errol Spence and when he fought at home in Omaha, Nebraska.
Crawford’s attendance
- Israil Madrimov [2024]: Attendance numbers not announced at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. However, there are reports of 4,000 tickets given away.
- Jeff Horn [2018]: 8,112 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
- Jose Benavidez Jr. [2018]: 13,323 at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
- Egidijus Kavaliauskas [2019]: 10,101 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The capacity for boxing events at MSG is 20,789.
- Kell Brook [2020]: No crowd due to the fight taking place during COVID.
- Shawn Porter (2021): 11,568 at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
- Errol Spence Jr. (2023): 19,900 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“I don’t hear the smear campaign now. He said, ‘Give me my shot. I’m going to show you,’ and he did it again against Canelo,” said Ward.
The reality of his career
What is Ward talking about? Crawford has been getting his shots at titles all along. How did Crawford become a four-division world champion before fighting Canelo if he wasn’t getting his chances for fights? The only time Crawford had to wait for a chance to fight for a world title was when he was trying to get a clash against Errol Spence.
When Crawford first moved up to welterweight, he was given an immediate title shot against WBO champion Jeff Horn on June 9, 2018. Crawford didn’t have to wait, and he wasn’t blocked. It was his first fight in the division. Making Crawford sound like a victim doesn’t state the reality of his situation. He’s been treated like gold from the very beginning.
The reality is, Terence didn’t deserve a title shot against Canelo for the undisputed super middleweight championship because he’d never fought in the weight class.
Questioning the fight’s fairness
Turki Alalshikh made the fight happen with his money, but it was totally unsporting and unfair to the contenders like Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez, for Crawford to be given the green light to move up two weight classes, leapfrog over them to get a straight title shot.
I don’t believe Crawford would have ever been able to physically earn a title shot if he had to defeat Mbilli, Martinez, or Osleys Iglesias to face Canelo for his four belts at 168. In my view, the running that Bud did against Canelo wouldn’t have worked against those three contenders. They’d have gotten to Crawford and showed what happens when you jump up two weight classes at 38.
The fight shouldn’t have been sanctioned as a professional contest. It was an exhibition-like gimmick fight, making a mockery of the sport.
Last Updated on 09/17/2025
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