Turki Al-Sheikh told Terence Crawford to “be ready” for his next fight. He’s not saying who and when the Nebraska native will fight for his “next fight.” Crawford said, “Call me.”
Ideally, that would mean that Turki would make Crawford earn his retirement payday against Canelo Alvarez by insisting he fight the winner of the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell match.
The Next Move
That’s how it should be because to make the match against Canelo seem more credible, Crawford needs to fight at 168 first against one of the top guys. If this were war, Crawford would need to do something valiant to earn these battle ribbons to be a decorated soldier:
– Medal of Honor
– The Distinguished Service Cross
You don’t get those military medals for doing the minimum, as Crawford is doing, going from a narrow, lackluster win over Israil Madrimov at 154 straight into a golden parachute retirement payday against Canelo. Nah, that’s not how it should be. If Terence wants his military medals, he’s got to fight these battles to show that he deserves them to be worn on his chest during parades in Omaha, Nebraska:
– David Benavidez
– David Morrell
– Christian Mbilli
– Dmitry Bivol
– Artur Beterbiev
– Diego Pacheco
What Terence wants are the medals without earning them in war. You can’t respect that. It’s weak and not right. If he wants to be the next Audie Murphy, he must earn his ribbons of war.
Crawford must earn the fight against Canelo Alvarez by walking through real battlefield conditions, taking bullets and shrapnel, and facing the horrors of combat to earn the honor of being in the ring with the King of the sport.
Turki Al-Sheikh needs to call Crawford and tell him he has to do something valiant to have the chance to shape his legacy realistically, not just to get a big payday so he can slink back to Omaha with his money after he loses.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) only fights once a year. So, if he keeps with his minimalist schedule, his next fight will be in September against Canelo Alvarez. That’s assuming Turki doesn’t insist on the Canelo-Crawford fight happening on the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend in May of this year.
Call me stay ready. https://t.co/lSwJ19LgMs
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) January 15, 2025
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