Terence Crawford wants to fight Canelo Alvarez. The welterweight champion has his eyes set on moving up to super-middleweight for a clash with the Mexican superstar.
Crawford recently made his debut at 154 pounds and became a champion in his fourth weight class. Now, he's looking for an even bigger challenge. The Nebraska native says a fight with Canelo is the only one that interests him in the sport right now.
Canelo currently holds all the belts at 168 pounds. He's also a four-division champion, just like Crawford. A fight between these two would be a clash of boxing's elite.
But not everyone thinks it's a good idea. Amir Khan, who fought both men, has some strong words of caution for Crawford. Khan moved up from 147 to 155 pounds to face Canelo in 2016. The result wasn't pretty.
"I was never the same fighter again facing Canelo. You can get knocked down, fine, you can get back up again, but the knockout Canelo gave me, it probably took five years off my life."
Khan told Fastest Pay Out Casinos that the knockout changed how other fighters approached him in the ring. He thinks Crawford should think twice about moving up.
"It's a very dangerous fight for Crawford, you're only one punch away from getting hurt, Canelo's power is always going to be there. Crawford has earned good money, he has a beautiful family, why risk it? You're only one punch away from getting hurt, and he doesn't really need the money or the fame. He's pound for pound the best fighter in the world."
Crawford seems determined to make the fight happen, despite the warnings. Some in the boxing world even think he might retire if he can't land the Canelo bout.
It's worth noting that Khan fought Crawford three years after his loss to Canelo. That fight was for the WBO Welterweight World Title, and Khan was stopped in the sixth round.
The potential Crawford-Canelo matchup would be a true test of skill versus size. Crawford is considered by many to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But Canelo's power and size advantage could be too much to overcome.
As things stand, Crawford is still campaigning at super-welterweight. Canelo continues to dominate at super-middleweight. Whether this dream fight will ever become a reality remains to be seen.
