Oscar De La Hoya picks Terence Crawford as the world's top pound-for-pound boxer. The former champion shared his thoughts on Crawford's skills and recent performances.
De La Hoya knows a thing or two about being the best. He won The Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year in '97 and '98 and started his career with 31 wins before losing to Felix Trinidad in 1999. He ended up with 39 wins from 45 fights. De La Hoya's flashy style and complete offense took him to the top of the sport.
Right now, the pound-for-pound debate centers around Crawford, Oleksandr Usyk, and Naoya Inoue. These three are the only fighters to become undisputed champions in two divisions during the four-belt era.
De La Hoya shared his thoughts with FightHype:
"Crawford, I love, because he's probably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His style is fan-friendly. He's a tremendous boxer, undefeated. He went up a weight class and met a guy who was really tough. Sometimes you're not gonna look as good as you did in your previous fights fighting smaller guys. It's okay. It's a learning process. He has to establish himself at 154. He probably fought the toughest guy. Not the most dangerous guy but the toughest guy."
Crawford became undisputed at welterweight last year, clearing out a division for the second time in his career. He then moved up to 154 and beat Israil Madrimov on points. The fight ended Crawford's long run of stoppages, but he got to take a belt back to Omaha.
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De La Hoya promotes Vergil Ortiz and might want to make a fight with Crawford. But Crawford will likely target Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez before he retires.