If Terence Crawford does decide to return to the ring, he will not be short of challengers.
The switch-hitter from Omaha, Nebraska retired following his win over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to become undisputed super-middleweight champion. It was the fourth division in which Crawford captured all four major titles, and the victory took his record to 42-0.
Rather than pursue a big-money rematch with Mexican icon Canelo, Crawford announced his retirement from the sport, keen to spend time with his family and let his body recover from numerous brutal training camps.
He has since doubled down on his position following speculation that it may be a Tyson Fury-esque move, assuring fans that his time inside the ropes is over with.
Despite that, Jermell Charlo has urged him to return. During an interview with Cigar Talk, the former undisputed super-welterweight champion said he was still keen on the match-up that so many fans were calling for years ago.
“I wish I would’ve got a Terence Crawford fight. I wish he would come out of retirement and just give me an opportunity to fight him, and just make sure we respect who the best black brother is. I think it’s me. I come from the south, he come a little from the midwest, it’s cool. Terence Crawford was always in the mix even when I was an amateur.
“I have no disrespect to him, he’s a great fighter. He did what he had to do. He beat Canelo, he did this, did that. Remember, styles make fights and that’s why you’d see such stylistically such a great match up. I switch southpaw, Canelo not gonna do all that. See, the Canelo fight for me, I was completely distracted from what the prize was. If I hadn’t have been distracted I would’ve handled that fight the way I needed to.”
During his one-sided win over Errol Spence Jr in 2023, Crawford engaged in a back and forth with Charlo, who was watching ringside. Charlo and Spence, at that time, were stablemates, and avenging the loss in a fight with ‘Bud’ made a lot of sense, but Charlo instead took the opportunity to move up in weight and face Canelo.
Though many like to avoid triangle theories when making predictions, others will look at Canelo’s dominant points win and give Charlo little chance in a fight against Crawford. It will remain a fantasy debate regardless, as if Crawford does return it’s unlikely to be a match-up at the top of his list.
Charlo, meanwhile, is keen to book a return – his first since that defeat – but says he is having trouble communicating with PBC to make it happen. He has also called out the likes of Spence – as both have split with Derrick James – and Jaron Ennis. If he manages to land a big fight, Crawford will almost certainly only be an observer.
