Terence Crawford seems to have a single-minded pursuit of Canelo Alvarez in progress for now, but the pound-for-pound elite and unbeaten four-division champion is finding it hard to deny that he, too, is being targeted.
The past week has seen WBA junior-middleweight champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) called out by former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor for a dual boxing-MMA series, by social-media wonder Ryan Garcia all while the mandatory fight that Crawford has earned against WBO/WBC 154-pound champion Sebastian Fundora looms.
Both McGregor and Crawford acknowledged the interest from Saudi Arabia boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh in staging the two-fight boxing-MMA series between the pair.
McGregor said on a video blog that Crawford told him, “I don’t fancy taking a kick.”
Crawford responded, “I’m not getting in no Octagon so you can start kicking and elbowing me. We’d make a shit-ton of money, but (McGregor) ain’t about to be kicking me.”
McGregor in 2017 participated in the second-most lucrative pay-per-view fight of all time when he was stopped in the 10th round by Floyd Mayweather Jr.
McGregor, 36, hasn’t fought in the UFC since he suffered a second consecutive loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021, and a push for him to fight Michael Chandler has crumbled through injuries and drug-testing requirements.
He’s previously attempted to box new International Boxing Hall of Fame candidate Manny Pacquiao.
“Conor McGregor is basically the prostitute of combat sports – you get to beat his ass anytime you want, and he’ll let you beat his ass. He’s into it,” former welterweight boxing champion and McGregor’s former sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi said on Thursday’s edition of ProBox TV’s “Top Stories.”
“I start to question if there’s a sadism, masochism to it: He likes it as long as he gets paid.”
Mentioning Crawford’s name is a hazardous undertaking, former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri said on “Top Stories.”
“Crawford is much meaner than Mayweather. With his killer instinct, he will really hurt you. And he’s the active No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter,” Algieri said.
Malignaggi said McGregor is demeaning his sport by rushing to participate in such a one-sided affair in the boxing ring.
“Aren’t you embarrassed, dude?” Malignaggi asked, calling McGregor’s proposal a “clown show.”
Algieri, meanwhile, referred to Crawford’s disinterest in the MMA portion as shrewd.
“Terence has obviously been kicked … if they did one (fight) in the ring and one in the cage, as long as they did the one in the ring first … because Terence is going to beat (McGregor’s) ass,” Algieri said.
The request from the suspended Garcia, who was sued in New York last week by his April 20 opponent Devin Haney, is a non-starter, theorizes Algieri, because Crawford is obviously searching for a foe who will inspire him to train fervently while seeking a record purse as his career nears a finish line at age 37.
Fundora, meanwhile, is a fascinating foe because the fight could take place by the early winter and a victory would make Crawford a three-belt junior-middleweight champion one win shy of becoming the first three-time undisputed champion of the four-belt era.
Crawford on Monday requested a 10-day extension for the negotiating period with Fundora which will end around the time of the October 12 undisputed light-heavyweight championship fight between Russia’s Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Alvarez has expressed interest in a rematch with Bivol, who defeated him by unanimous decision in 2022. If Beterbiev wins, it’s unclear if Alvarez would want that fight or a money grab against the far lighter Crawford, a favorite fighter of the enriched Alalshikh.
Going to Fundora now seems ideal for Crawford.
“It’s a very winnable fight,” Malignaggi said. “You see the road to build on it. All of a sudden, (becoming undisputed champion again) starts to look more realistic and there’s a big reward as far as legacy is concerned.”
If he defeated Fundora, Crawford would only lack the IBF belt being contested October 19 between former champion Tim Tszyu and new IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.
And unlike with Canelo Alvarez, who will choose whom he fights next, “Terence Crawford’s in the driver’s seat” with the others.
It’s the best thing for the sport for Crawford to stay at 154, to either rule the division after doing so at 140 pounds and welterweight, or to give October 19’s favored Tszyu the opportunity to replace Crawford because he offers the ability to carry “superstar potential into a new generation.”