Terence Crawford Admits One Fighter Could ‘Definitely’ Take Pound-For-Pound Number 1 From Him

Terence Crawford is considered by many as the very best fighter on the planet.

Champion in four divisions, undisputed in two, the switch-hitter from Omaha is undefeated in 41 fights and most recently dethroned WBA Super-Welterweight Champion Israil Madrimov.

He can’t go unmentioned in the current pound-for-pound debate and is usually framed by two other names – Oleksandr Usyk and Naoya Inoue.

Inoue is a phenomenon in the lower weight classes, delivering the sort of knockouts that are more common up the divisions. He is currently four-belt champion at super-bantamweight. Usyk is only the second man in the history of the sport to hold all belts in the cruiserweight ranks before doing the same at heavyweight.

After his win over Errol Spence Jr last year, Crawford was asked if he had separated himself from Inoue at the top of the list. He said absolutely.

“Without a doubt. The winner of this fight was going to be No 1, pound for pound, hands down. You’ve got Errol Spence, who was ranked No 4, and you got Terence Crawford, who was ranked No 1 [on many lists]. You’ve got two fighters that are in the top five of the pound-for-pound ratings. How can [the winner] not be No 1?”

When Usyk beat Tyson Fury in May of this year to win the fourth and final heavyweight belt, ‘Bud’ was more welcoming at the top, admitting that he would have no problem with the Ukrainian taking the number one spot.

“Man y’all better put some respect on Usyk man. He definitely a candidate for number 1 P4P fighter in the world. I’m no hater. He beat the man that beat the man in a bigger division, giving what he’s already done. Salute brother!”

Crawford spoke on Usyk and what he thought of him being at the top of the list again recently to the media, including Seconds Out.

“It’s an opinion. Usyk is a great fighter. He’s done great things in the sport of boxing. I always felt as if Tyson Fury was already at his ceiling. He couldn’t go up or go down in weight classes. For Usyk to go up weight classes and still do what he does then that’s pound-for-pound in my eyes.”

While Usyk is set to rematch Fury on December 21, there’s a general feeling that Crawford may hang up the gloves if he can’t land a fight against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – a win that would undeniably put him at number one once more.