Champ-turned-commentator and pundit Tim Bradley has always spoken very highly of four-weight world ruler Terence Crawford. And Bradley – who today celebrates his 42nd birthday – is picking “Bud” to topple Canelo Alvarez when the two modern greats collide in Las Vegas next month. In fact, Bradley has gone as far as being quoted as saying Crawford will “beat the brakes off Canelo.”
Ranking Crawford Against the Greats
That remains to be seen, but Crawford has undoubtedly proven himself as a special fighter during his career, with the Nebraskan switch-hitter winning world titles at 135, 140, 147, and 154 pounds. Now, if he can upset Canelo and take the Mexican’s four unified 168-pound belts, well, Crawford may well hold a very special place in the boxing history books.
But Bradley feels Crawford is already there, that he has done enough to be considered a great. How great? In Bradley’s opinion – surely one to prove controversial – Crawford ranks right up there with Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Mayweather, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, and Roberto Duran!
Wow. And Bradley manages to go further, with him saying in a recent episode of his YouTube channel, that Crawford “IS” Ali. That he “IS” Robinson. That Crawford “IS” Mayweather too. And that Crawford “got Hagler in him, he got Duran in him.”
What Bradley has done here is he has ranked Crawford with five of the finest, the greatest, the most incredible fighters in all of boxing. But, as special as Crawford has been in the ring, has he ever done anything to convince you that he deserves to be ranked alongside the five kings Bradley has both compared Crawford to and said he has elements inside him?
Comparing Crawford to the Kings
“Crawford is Ali. Crawford is Sugar Ray Robinson. Crawford is Mayweather, too. He got Hagler in him, he got Duran in him, understand that,” Bradley said.
It’s astonishingly high praise Bradley has handed Crawford here, almost certainly – in fact, absolutely certainly – far too much praise. If he beats Canelo in a comprehensive fashion, then maybe, maybe Crawford will be somewhere in the discussion as far as him perhaps being one of the best to ever do it. But even a win over a 35-year-old, slowing down Canelo will not be enough for plenty of knowledgeable fans and critics, surely……
What the original and, for so many, one and only Sugar Ray did in the ring was nothing short of magical. The same can be said, and is said, of Ali. And of Duran. And of Hagler. Even Mayweather, who has his critics, those who say Floyd “cherry picked” at times during his career, was ultra-special in the ring.
Does Tim Bradley, who surely knows his boxing, really, truly believe Crawford is as great as these five Gods of War?
Bradley’s Five Kings
Just by comparing records, and of course, there is far more to it than records when it comes to ranking a fighter’s greatness, Crawford is currently 41-0(31).
Sugar Ray finished at 174-19-6 (109)
Ali walked away at 56-5(37)
Mayweather of course finished (?) at 50-0(27)
Hagler finished off at 62-3-2(52)
Duran exited with a 103-16(70).
Understand that.