Crawford's Legacy Grows In Retirement

Conor Benn has backed Terence Crawford to beat Oscar De La Hoya in his prime — and extended that verdict to Floyd Mayweather, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker and Roberto Duran for good measure.

Benn was asked to weigh in on the pound-for-pound debates that have followed Crawford into retirement. Crawford became boxing's sixth five-division world champion with his victory over Canelo Alvarez last September, joining Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, De La Hoya, Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in that exclusive club. Of that group, only De La Hoya and Pacquiao went on to conquer a sixth division — De La Hoya becoming the first ever sextuple champion with his WBO middleweight title win over Felix Sturm in 2004.

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Crawford had the opportunity to join them. A middleweight world title shot was offered in the aftermath of the Canelo win, but the fight fell apart after Janibek Alimkhanuly failed a doping test. Crawford announced his retirement in December instead, leaving the question of a sixth division permanently unanswered.

Benn, who challenges Ryan Garcia for the WBC welterweight title on September 12th, had no hesitation in placing Crawford above the sport's all-time greats.