Crawford Begs Canelo For A Payday – ‘We Want Canelo Next’
Terence Crawford called out Canelo Alvarez following his victory over Edgar Berlanga.
Canelo dropped Berlanga before winning a dominant unanimous decision win. The win confirmed his position as the best 168-pounder. In his post-fight comments, Canelo revealed that he would take some time off before deciding his next move. The biggest fight available for Canelo is David Benavidez. The Mexican Monster currently boxes at 175 after Canelo demanded $200 million to make that fight.
The next plausible fight, which is big, is against Crawford. Canelo gave a mixed reaction towards the fight, stating he would not receive credit for beating a 147 fighter. Since then, Canelo appeared open to it, suggesting that he could take it if the right money was offered. Following Canelo’s win, Crawford doubled down on his wishes. The following clip shows Crawford with Turki Alalshikh calling out the Mexican for a fight.
Crawford On Canelo
“Yes, let’s go. Canelo, come on, we are ready. We want Canelo next, Canelo come on! We are ready. Canelo – Crawford the biggest fight in boxing. Stay ready.”
Nevertheless, Canelo has to decide on a balance between legacy and currency. A rematch with Dmitry Bivol is arguably bigger. Their first fight saw Bivol outbox Canelo to a unanimous decision win. After the fight, Canelo underwent surgery on his hand, later disclosing he had a hand issue. The rematch was being negotiated.
Canelo wanted to run things back at 175, while Bivol wanted it for Canelo’s belts at 168 since he was undisputed then. Canelo is no longer undisputed after the IBF stripped him for not facing his mandatory William Scull. However, Bivol could become undisputed when he boxes Artur Beterbiev on October 12. That could set up a huge rematch. Since Bivol works with the Saudis, there is the potential to make that fight happen.
Canelo’s Options
“When I spoke to Canelo yesterday, he said he wants Dmitry Bivol next, provided, of course, Bivol does beat Beterbiev on October 12th in Riyadh for the undisputed light heavyweight championship…Canelo says, ‘Look, I know I can beat him. I’m a better fighter.’ I said, ‘Your hand was injured, right?’ ‘Not just my hand. Everything was off,’ and you can tell the loss still bothers him,” Coppinger said
Crawford also has other options. He is the WBA Champion at 154. There is a massive unification available against Sebastian Fundora. Fundora is the current WBO and WBC Champion, who picked up the belts after beating Tim Tszyu. Fundora has been linked with a fight against Errol Spence Jr. Once Fundora beat Tsyzu, Spence jumped in the ring to demand that fight.
But since there was no official date, fans have been left none the wiser. Tszyu also boxes Bakhram Murtazaliev in his next fight for the IBF belt at 154. If Tszyu comes out victorious, that is another fight Crawford could purse. The pieces are in place for Crawford to target undisputed at 154 if he cannot secure the Canelo bout. But he would have to beat a lot of big names in the process.
Comments
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
