A Hall of Fame great has urged Terence Crawford to draw the curtain on his accomplished professional career, just weeks after he pulled off a monumental victory over Canelo Alvarez.
The 38-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska wrote his name into the boxing history books as he defeated Mexican icon Canelo via unanimous decision at a sold-out Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, becoming the undisputed super-middleweight champion in the process.
Victory over Canelo secured Crawford’s status as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world with The Ring Magazine, with many fans and analysts now regarding him as being one of the greatest fighters in the history of boxing.
Another legendary American fighter that enjoyed considerable success during his own professional career is Roy Jones Jr, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2022.
Speaking in an interview, Jones urged Crawford to ‘learn his lesson’ and retire from the sport following his victory over Canelo, although he does admit that he would be interested in seeing his countryman face UFC star Ilia Topuria next.
“Terence Crawford should learn my lesson and retire – or fight Ilia Topuria. I think Crawford will retire. If he retires next, it’d be the best thing.”
“Had I retired after I beat Antonio Tarver the first time, we wouldn’t be having conversations about the greatest of all time. And we still shouldn’t, because facts are facts.
“But if Crawford does anything more, he should fight Ilia Topuria. He deserves the reward at this time. Look how long he waited before he got the attention he has now. He deserves one more of those. If anything, that’s what he should do.”
Whilst it remains to be seen whether ‘Bud’ will go on to draw the curtain on his career in the coming months, the 38-year-old could be tempted by a potential move down to middleweight next, with reports suggesting that he could be in line for a clash with unified WBO and IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly next.
