Terence Crawford may receive more criticism from fans if he fights Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin than Vergil Ortiz Jr. or Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis next.
Honorable Turki Alalshikh recently said that he did not think that Crawford would agree to fight with the recently crowned champion of the WBC Interim junior middleweight title because he wanted a fight that would only face Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford’s Calculated Moves
The fans feel like Crawford should fight Boot or Vergil if he can’t get Canelo because that’s who they want to see. Crawford failed to pass his test at 154 with flying colors against Israel Madrimov on August 3rd, winning a lopsided decision in a fight that many felt was lost.
Choosing not to fight Boots or Vergil Jr. it makes Crawford look like he’s throwing away two talents and selfishly choosing not to pass the baton on to a new generation.
Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs), the 2004 Olympic silver medalist and former world middleweight champion, is said to be in talks with the Honorable Turki Alalshikh about Crawford’s next fight in early 2025.
If Canelo doesn’t agree to fight Crawford, 36, next, he will fight Golovkin, 42, or one of the younger lions, Boot Ennis or Vergil Jr. The two are eager to face Nebraska’s Crawford in a transition-level guard battle.
Crawford vs. Boots could be a big fight in the US and cause a lot of interest. The same thing happened in Crawford vs. Vergil Jr. If Canelo turns up his nose at his opponent, both of these fights are attractive to the fans.
Golovkin the Easy Choice?
In Crawford’s opinion, a fight with Golovkin, 42, would make sense because he fought at super middleweight in his last fight in 2022, and arguably beat Canelo two or three times.
In terms of form, the 2022 version of Golovkin will be too tall for Crawford because he is very strong, durable, and relentless in his attacks. Crawford will need to run all night against GGG to avoid being outclassed by that kind of talented former champion.
There would be a lot of sarcastic and angry fans if Crawford made it a technical issue, grinding and running from GGG all night instead of standing and fighting. He has been criticized for making his fight with Madrimov dull and intimidating.
Losing a fight against Golovkin or looking bad would hurt Crawford’s chances of getting the Canelo fight because the fans wouldn’t want to see the fight after that. Crawford’s controversial win in the Madrimov fight has already made him look bad enough, but getting beaten or fighting the old, inactive GGG, 42, would be disastrous for him.
Crawford won’t be fighting one of the more active, top-ranked fighters at 168-lb to prepare for Canelo, like Christian Mbilli. He’s not nearly as popular as GGG, and it won’t do much to build excitement for a Canelo vs. Crawford.
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