Crawford’s 154-Pound Future in Doubt After Canelo Fight, Undisputed Run Unlikely

Terence Crawford says he’s not interested in attempting to become the undisputed champion at 154 after his fight against superstar Canelo Alvarez on September 13th. That’s not a shock, though, because Crawford hit his ceiling with his fight against former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov last summer on August 3rd.

That fight showed that Crawford couldn’t fight better than that, and he would likely lose to other fighters in the 154-lb division. With minor tweaks in his game, Madrimov would have his number in a rematch. It would be a sad way for Terence to go, losing repeatedly to the predatory sharks in the division. They would feed on him.

The 154 Minefield

The former four-division world champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) feels that he wouldn’t receive credit for beating the current champions Bakhram Muratazaliev [IBF] and Sebastian Fundora [WBC and WBO] because they’re either not known by fans or have been beaten already.

Crawford would become a three-division undisputed champion by defeating the two remaining champions at 154. Still, it would be tough for a slight 38-year-old to accomplish that task, mainly if he sticks to his once-a-year schedule.

It would mean Crawford fighting the powerful puncher Murtazaliev and the 6’5″ Fundora at age 39 or 40. It doesn’t matter how good Crawford once was; trying those younger, taller, stronger, and more active fighters at that age wouldn’t be good for the Nebraska native. Crawford knows what he’s up against.

So, he’s saying he won’t even try to become an undisputed champion. His chances of success are slim, and it would be a brutal way for Crawford to suffer his first career defeat by getting knocked out by Murtazaliev, who is lethal with either hand. It could be a complete mismatch.

If Crawford focuses on legacy and money when he returns to 154, a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis would be the way to go. Both would still be perilous fights for Crawford due to his age. If he chooses to take a one-year layoff after the Canelo fight, he’d be fighting one of them at 39. That ain’t good if it’s Vergil Jr.

The pace, high output, and heavy artillery Vergil Jr. would be dropping on Crawford would make it near impossible for him to take for long without crumbling or being forced to flee. He got lucky with the scoring for the Israil Madrimov fight, but Crawford isn’t going to keep being given decisions in fights that he’s getting out-slugged.

Madrimov’s Lesson

If ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov had been more popular, he’d have won that fight because he had landed the more brutal, cleaner shots on Crawford. Just imagine what Vergil Ortiz Jr would do to him. It would be Madrimov 2.0.

“I felt stronger than him. I felt I punched harder than him. I felt I hurt him many times in the fight,” said Terence Crawford to Cigar Talk about his fight against Israil Madrimov last year on August 3rd.

Crawford sounds delusional here. Israil ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov was the bigger puncher, and he made it look easy with the way he was snapping Crawford’s head back all night with hard shots.

Madrimov landed the cleaner, harder shots and clearly deserved the win, but the judges gave him the B-side treatment. Crawford’s face looked more beat up at the end. There were no instances of Madrimov being hurt in the fight. I’m just wondering if age is starting to catch up to Crawford, which is causing him issues with his memory. He may be thinking of another fight.

“I felt he came prepared, he was ready, and he fought a good fight. He was awkward; he was patient. He was determined. He stuck to his game plan, and he did what he had to do to make it to the last bell,” said Crawford, creating a narrative that Madrimov had to survive against him, which screams ego-protective.

No Undisputed Run

“Not at all, because I’m looking at the landscape of the 154-lb division. There are a lot of great fighters, but there are not a lot of defining fights at 154. There’s not a lot of legacy fights at 154,” said Crawford, making it clear he has no interest in becoming undisputed at 154.

“When I look at the landscape at 154. Bakhram. People are going to say, ‘Who is Bakhram?’ He knocked out Tim Tszyu, who already had a loss.

“Fundora has already been knocked out. Throughout my career, people have taken credit away from me to try and diminish my accomplishments,” said Crawford.