Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez in his debut at super-middleweight, securing all four titles in the division. Post-fight, boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh floated the idea of a match-up against David Benavidez.
Very few people in the sport will doubt him going forward, however a fight with Benavidez, even if the latter moves back down in weight after fighting at light-heavyweight since mid-2024, seems an even tougher task.
Speaking to Inside the Ring, Benavidez first praised the performance of ‘all-time great’ Crawford.
“I just want to give Terence Crawford a great congratulations. He’s reached the part in history that only so many fighters get to accomplish in boxing. He’s one of the greatest of all time, you can’t take that away from him. Terence Crawford should be on the Mount Rushmore of boxing. Not only did he go up three weight classes, he beat one of the best fighters of this generation … Not only is he a great fighter but you can tell in that fight how much of a dog he is. I think a lot of fighters can take a lot of notes from Terence, physically and in the heart aspect.”
Asked if he is interest in returning to 168lbs for a super-fight, the WBC Light-Heavyweight World Champion said no.
“To be honest, let Terence Crawford live. That’s his weight class. I lost interest in 168 a long, long time ago. And I know that we could get offered a lot of money to go down but I’m more comfortable at 175. I’m chasing Beterbiev, Bivol, Zurdo Ramirez at cruiserweight. So, I’ve been at 168 but I have no interest in going back down.”
Benavidez will defend his belt on November 22 against two-time title challenger Anthony Yarde. Should he retain, he has eyes on Dmitry Bivol.
What Crawford does next remains unclear, though he is expected to fight on. He may drop down to middleweight in an attempt to secure a championship in a sixth division.
