Shakur Stevenson says he wants to see his friend Terence Crawford retire now that he’s beaten Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion in a third weight class last Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Shakur Calls for Crawford’s Retirement
Lightweight champion Stevenson believes that Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) has done all there is to do in boxing, and he wants him to retire to save himself from the wear and tear on his body. He notes that Crawford hasn’t taken a lot of punishment during his 17-year pro career, and he wants him to get out before he does.
The fights that are going to be offered to Crawford now will cause wear and tear, as he’s going to need to face these younger fighters if he wants to hold onto his super middleweight belts:
- Osleys Iglesias
- Christian Mbilli
- Diego Pacheco
- Hamzah Sheera
The first two names on the list, Mbilli and Iglesias, would cause a lot of wear and tear on Crawford because they’re not old. They would come after him in a much more aggressive way than the short 5’8″ Canelo did.
Why Stevenson Wants Retirement
“I don’t want to see him fight no more. From training camps and wear and tear on his body. I think he’s done everything in the sport that there is to do. There’s nothing he can do. He made one of the best fighters of our generation look average. I think that’s a huge accomplishment,” said Shakur Stevenson to Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel about Terence Crawford’s win over Canelo Alvarez.
Stevenson is going overboard, slathering on the praise of Crawford’s performance against Canelo. It was far from making Canelo “look average.” That’s either a case of Shakur being disengenuous or blind to the flaws Crawford showed in the fight.
He barely won the fight, and it could have easily been a draw. If the judges had scored some of the close rounds in Canelo’s favor instead of Crawford’s, we’d have seen a different outcome. Crawford didn’t set himself apart from Canelo until the last three to four rounds, from nine through twelve. He wasn’t making Canelo “look average” in rounds 1 through 8.
Terence could have easily lost six of those rounds if the judges had factored in the body shots and the aggression from Canelo.
“It’s over. I think he put a lot of hard-earned time into his body and craft. There’s nothing left for you to do. Three times undisputed,” said Shakur.
The Financial Reality of Fighting On
It doesn’t have to be the end for Crawford. He can still fight on, but he would have to be more open to taking the risky fights offered to him if he wanted to continue to make big money. It’s not a good sign that he’s turning down fights against David Benavidez.
His idea of moving down to 160 to fight for world titles won’t work if he believes he’s going to get mega millions. There are no big names in the middleweight division for Crawford to continue receiving the kind of money he just received fighting Canelo. Turki Alalshikh is trying to help Crawford out by mentioning Benavidez, but he’s already rejecting that. That’s shooting himself in the foot.
