Terence Crawford’s Firm Decision: Standing His Ground at 168 and the Unforeseen Dangers

Terence Crawford says he won’t be moving back down to 154 following his win over Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night in Las Vegas. Crawford states that he feels “comfortable” fighting at 168. If he did move down in weight, it would be to 160.

Staying at 168 is also risky for Crawford because there are contenders like Osleys Iglesias and Christian Mbilli that are on the doorstep for a world title fight.

No Return to 154

“I’m not going back down to 154. I’m comfortable. My motto is any weight class I ever moved up from, I never went back down,” said Terence Crawford to Stephen A. Smith’s YouTube channel, when asked if he’s considering a return to junior middleweight after his win over Canelo Alvarez last Saturday.

It would be too risky for Crawford to return to 154, because those guys cut off the ring better than Canelo, they hit hard, and they wouldn’t gas out in the second half. Crawford came close to losing to Israil Madrimov in 2024, and he’s not even the best in the division.

You can only imagine what fighters like Jaron Ennis, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. would do to Crawford. If he moved back down, he could live to regret his decision.

“160, that’s a stretch, but if it is, it’ll be 168,” said Crawford.

The 160-Pound Problem

The chances of Crawford moving down to 160 are slim because there are no money fights available for him in that division.

If Turki Alalshikh is the one who is going to be paying Crawford to fight, he’s going to want value for the money he pays. The fighters in that division aren’t popular enough for Crawford to headline against on Netflix or DAZN PPV.

Assuming Canelo chooses not to push for a rematch, the best options for Crawford to bring in fans are these fighters:

• David Benavidez
• Dmitry Bivol
• Jaron Ennis
• Sebastian Fundora
• Hamzah Sheeraz
• Chris Eubank Jr
• Conor Benn