Terence Crawford has a new rival targeting a showdown with him.
Crawford became a four-weight world champion in August when he defeated Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision to win the WBA super-welterweight title.
It means that ‘Bud’ has held world titles at lightweight, super-lightweight and welterweight, and became undisputed during the reigns at super-lightweight and welterweight.
Now that he is competing at 154lbs, there is a new list of opponents looking to secure a fight – and one of those men is Vergil Ortiz.
Ortiz recovered from two knockdowns to defeat Serhii Bohachuk by majority decision in August, winning the WBC interim super-welterweight title in the process.
It saw him extend his unbeaten record to 22-0, with 21 of those wins by knockout, and he told Shaka Wear TV the opponents he is targeting, with Crawford being one of them.
“Tim Tszyu, Crawford, the winner of Spence-Fundora, Charlo is a good one.”
Ortiz then explained why he believes he has what it takes to beat ‘Bud.’
“I would love to fight him. He’s probably the number one pound for pound fighter right now. He’s in his peak. I believe that I can [beat him].
“I respect him as a fighter, that’s the thing. When I want to fight people it doesn’t mean I don’t like you so let’s get it on. It’s more I respect your skills and I want to see if I could beat you.”
While a fight between Crawford and Ortiz could happen in the future, ‘Bud’ has completely ruled out taking on a certain world champion next.
