Canelo Alvarez gave Terence Crawford some bad news today, declining his offer to fight with him at a 158-lb catchweight. There was never any chance that Canelo would agree to melt down to 158 to fight a welterweight like Crawford because the problem with trying to make the weight, the fight might not sell.
Crawford has never proven himself as a PPV attraction, and the likely reason his fight with Errol Spence did good numbers is because of Errol.
The Mexican star made it clear that he can’t go down in weight any lower, which means Crawford is permanently out of luck because he’s already dismissed the option of going up to 168 to fight Canelo.
If Crawford chooses to play it safe and not take risks for the remainder of his career, these are his limited options:
- Errol Spence Jr – rematch
- Keith Thurman
- Sebastian Fundora
- Tim Tszyu
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ name wasn’t included as one of the options because Crawford had already said he wouldn’t fight him. Crawford also said he won’t move past 154.
It’s unclear where Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) came up with the idea of offering Canelo a fight at 158. If one of his team members told him to float that idea, he needs to ignore future advice from that person because Terence isn’t in the position to call the shots with Alvarez, especially when it comes to asking him to drain down 10 lbs. That’ss laughable.
Crawford’s reluctance to come out of his comfort zone to get a massive payday against Canelo by moving up to 168 reveals why he’s failed to become a PPV star all these years.
If Crawford had been willing to take risks with his career by moving up to 154, 160 & 168 when he was being avoided at 147, he’d potentially have been a start a lot earlier.
“I can’t go down anymore. Like he says when they ask him about Gervonta Davis, it’s the same for me. Everybody’s going to say, ‘He’s too small.’ Nobody’s going to give me credit for that,” said Canelo Alvarez to Fight Hub TV, about his dismissing Terence Crawford’s offer of a fight at a 158-lb catchweight.
It’ll be interesting to see if the 36-year-old Crawford changes his stance of not being willing to move up to 168 because that’s the only way he’s going to continue to get big paydays once his rematch with Errol Spence Jr takes place, if it does.
Crawford has already said he’s not interested in fighting Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and he seems to pinning his hopes on Jermell Charlo returning to 154 after he faces Canelo on September 30th.
It’s kind of desperate on Crawford’s part to be waiting for something that may not ever happen. If Crawford moves up to 168, he can make good money fighting Canelo, David Morrell Jr., David Benavidez, and Caleb Plan.
