Terence Crawford had seemed adamant on making a fight with Canelo Alvarez this year but it seems as if the fight may no longer occur as the Mexican undisputed champion shot down the notion of facing Crawford in a recent interview with Mexican-based broadcast network TV Azteca.
During the interview, the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s) substantiated on the lack of incentive for him to face Terence Crawford (40-0, 31 KO’s), arguing that the risks outweighed the benefits due to the weight class at which Crawford fights in [147 lbs/welterweight].
“They criticized me for fighting with Charlo, who is bigger than me. I am a small fighter for these weights. They don’t criticize when I gain weight, so now imagine Crawford from welterweight to 168 pounds, then I have everything to lose and nothing to gain ,” Alvarez stated to TV Azteca.
“People will say [if I beat him], ‘oh, he was too small’, and everything. At the end of the day, I’m not here to please the people who criticize me.“
Alvarez’ assertions of not intending to facing Crawford now rules the former undisputed welterweight out of the list of potential American opponents that Canelo Alvarez had been interested to face on May 4th. Jermall Charlo (33-0, 22 KO’s) and David Benavidez (28-0, 24 KO’s) remain solid candidates according to Alvarez himself.
“Could be, could be,” Alvarez asserted when asked on whether he’d fight the two aforementioned American boxers.
“Right now I can’t say why; the negotiations and the details of the fight are getting more complicated. but on May 4th I’m fighting.“
Canelo Alvarez could have been referencing the recent rumors of a financial collapse within Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to whom he signed last year, but it should be noted those reports have yet to be confirmed.
However, due to Alvarez’ admittance that the negotiations with Charlo and Benavidez―who are both associated with PBC―were becoming more complicated, Edgar Berlanga (21-0, 16 KO’s) has risen to become a prospective opponent due to his nationality as an American, his high position on the ranking boards of the various sanctioning bodies, and the fact Berlanga fights in the same weight class as Alvarez.
Edgar Berlanga is currently signed to Matchroom under whose banner Alvarez fought previously before signing with PBC. Berlanga is set to fight this week on Saturday, February 24th, against the undefeated Irish 168 lbs contender Padraig McCrory (18-0, 9 KO’s), and it would not be out of place for Berlanga to be the American opponent that Alvarez could potentially face on May 4th if he makes it past McCrory.
Terence Crawford, currently the unified welterweight champion, will now be searching for a new opponent to face, with Jaron “Boots” Ennis (31-0, 28 KO’s) a natural choice given he is the only other champion at welterweight through his IBF title. However, reports of Ennis being in the midst of a lawsuit might foil the chances of this fight occurring anytime soon.
Alternatively, Crawford may eye a potential shot at WBO super welterweight/junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17 KO’s) who is set to face Keith Thurman on March 30th. As a WBO ‘super champion’, Crawford has the privilege to arrange a fight with the WBO champion in any weight class, and Tszyu would be the most logical opponent for him to face if Tszyu manages to make it past Thurman given he fights just one division above from Crawford.
Aside from Ennis and Tszyu, in both a competitive and profitable sense, there are few other fights left for Terence Crawford to sink his teeth in, but the aforementioned opponents are high risk, high reward fights that can yield a profitable return for Crawford in popularity and earnings. Though Crawford has already indicated to have no interest in fighting Ennis, there are too few of opponents for Crawford for him not to at least reconsider fighting the IBF welterweight champion for what would become an undisputed fight―which would mean history if Crawford faced Ennis in his third undisputed fight of the four-belt era and came through it victorious.
