By: Sean Crose
There are those who feel that perhaps Terence Crawford isn’t quite the best boxer in the world today. And while that may (“may” being the operative word here) not be true there’s no doubt that the Nebraskan is one of the best of his generation. His thunderous performance over Errol Spence last year was the stuff legends are made of. Crawford-Spence was essentially considered a toss up a fight walking in. Virtually no one expected Crawford to deliver a one sided nine round beatdown. Yet that’s what the stellar welterweight delivered.
Crawford hasn’t fought since his epic victory over Spence. He will be back in the ring again this Saturday night, however, to make his junior middleweight debut. Crawford’s opponent this weekend in Los Angles is the undefeated Israil Madrimov, who holds the WBA divisional title (when you’re as good as Crawford, you can jump right into title contendership when you switch divisions and no one will complain). The interim WBO junior middleweight title will also be at stake. Although Crawford will be the prohibitive favorite, it’s worth noting that Madrimov dusted Magomed Kurbanov in his last fight.
Although Crawford-Madrimov will be a pay per view event, Saturday’s fight isn’t seen as a major event for Crawford. Indeed, there’s talk of the fighter known as “Bud” eventually facing fellow pound for pound great Canelo Alvarez. Still, Crawford hasn’t fought in a year. What’s more, at the age of 36, the man isn’t getting any younger. Still, when one possesses a much skill as Crawford does it’s hard to see him losing to anyone less than a top tier opponent (such as Canelo and Jaron “Boots” Ennis). For Crawford is such a patient, hard hitting, accurate and defensively sound fighter that it’s difficult to recall any opponent who has truly challenged him for any length of time.
In truth, Crawford never needs to fight again. He’s a shoe in for the Hall of Fame after he retires and his victory over Spence showed that he could impress in a legitimate superfight. There’s still more money to be made, no doubt, and more glory to be earned so long as he doesn’t start slipping. No fighter lasts forever, though ,so it’s only a matter of time before Crawford decides to call it a career. Enjoy him while you can. A fighter of Crawford’s caliber doesn’t come around all that often.