Terence Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, has ruled out Bud Crawford fighting David Benavidez. He flat-out said that the fight is not going to happen.
BoMac Shuts Down Benavidez Fight
McIntyre didn’t give a reason why he’s not interested in Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) fighting Benavidez, but it’s reasonable to assume that he feels that it’s a bad matchup for his fighter.
The things that Crawford did to defeat Canelo Alvarez last Saturday wouldn’t work against Benavidez, who would track him down, walk through his potshots, and bury him with combination punching.
‘BoMac’ said Terence is going to hold onto the four super middleweight titles that he won from Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) last Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The titles aren’t that important because Crawford is popular enough now that he can vacate them and still get fights.
What ‘BoMac’ is likely hoping for is a rematch with Canelo to happen, which would allow Crawford to get another big payday and perhaps a bigger purse than the $50 million he made last Saturday.
The Road to a Bigger Payday
Crawford said in an interview that he believes he’s now the “Face of Boxing.” That could mean that he’ll be looking to get $100 million+ for the rematch if Turki Alalshikh chooses to go in that direction.
Turki didn’t say a word last Saturday about doing a second fight between the two. He asked on social media about whether David Benavidez can return to 168. That could mean for Crawford or Canelo. There would be more interest in the Canelo-Benavidez fight because it’s the fight that fans have been calling for.
Also, it would be more entertaining than if Crawford were to be used as Benavidez’s opponent. Crawford would use a lot of movement, as we saw against Canelo, and it wouldn’t be an entertaining fight.
“No, we ain’t doing that fight,” said trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre to Fighthype on whether Terence Crawford would agree to face David Benavidez next.
“No, we’re not going to vacate the belts. We’re just going to sit where we need to sit for a minute, and then get back in the gym,” said BoMac.
The belts will be meaningless to Crawford if he can’t get the rematch with Canelo, because there is nobody at 168 that would be a big-money fight for him. That’s obviously why he would choose to hold onto the four titles. He wants the Canelo rematch. The top contenders in the division aren’t popular enough for Crawford to get a big payday.
Crawford’s Claim as Boxing’s Face
“Canelo is an all time great. He’s the last one. There’s no more Canelo’s,” said Crawford to Ring Magazine. “When you look around, you say, ‘I’m the Canelo.’ I’m the Face of Boxing now. I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, like I’ve always been.”
Benavidez is a big enough star for Crawford to get a nice payday if Turki chooses to put the fight on one of his Riyadh Season cards. However, ‘BoMac’ has already dismissed the possibility of that fight happening.