The boxing world are eagerly awaiting news on the return of pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford.
The 38-year-old from Nebraska extended his unbeaten record to 42-0 on September 13 when he dethroned Mexican icon Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez of his undisputed super-middleweight championship at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
‘Bud’ put on an outstanding display against Canelo to become the first male fighter in boxing history to win an undisputed world championship in three weight classes, having already achieved this at super-lightweight and welterweight respectively.
As rumours begin to circulate about what could be next for the unbeaten American, reports have suggested that Crawford could make the move down to middleweight to challenged unified WBO and IBF world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly in the near future.
In a social media post, the boxing community have expressed their disbelief at the noticeable size difference between Crawford and Janibek after they were pictured together recently.
“I didn’t realize Janibek was that much bigger than Bud Crawford”
“Geeesh. Much bigger. Going be a tough scrap.”
“How tf does he [Janibek] make 160? He looks like a cruiserweight”
I didn’t realize Janibek was that much bigger than Bud Crawford 🥶 pic.twitter.com/mkfc91zBtC
— BISHOP BOXING OPINION📌 (@BishopBoxing) November 11, 2025
Alimkhanuly has established himself as one of the most avoided fighters on the planet over the last few years. The 32-year-old from Kazakhstan has stopped 12 of the 17 opponent he has defeated during his career to date, with many considering him to be the best active middleweight in the sport.
He is set to make his return to the ring on December 6 when he faces WBA world middleweight champion Erislandy Lara in a three-belt unification clash in San Antonio, as he looks to move one step closer towards becoming the undisputed champion at 160lbs.
