Terence Crawford faced and defeated 42 different opponents during a 17-year career, but super-middleweight icon Carl Froch believes that there is one welterweight who would have put an end to Crawford’s unbeaten streak if they were to meet in their primes.
Crawford became the first post-war boxer to claim the undisputed title in three separate weight divisions last September; a run which began as a super-lightweight in 2015 by defeating Thomas Dulorme, then unifying against Viktor Postol before halting Julius Indongo in an undisputed title showdown.
‘Bud’ then moved on to the welterweight scene and knocked out Jeff Horn to capture the WBO world title on his 147lb debut, making five defences of the title before colliding with fierce rival and three-belt unified titleholder, Errol Spence Jr, in 2023.
In a unforgettable fight, Crawford brutally beat Spence down in an authoritative ninth-round stoppage win to capture the undisputed welterweight throne. Talk then turned to an unprecedented three-weight move up to super-middleweight to take on Canelo Alvarez.
After stopping off at super-welterweight to dethrone Israil Madrimov on his way up, Crawford debuted at super-middleweight in a challenge for Canelo’s undisputed crown and outboxed the Mexican superstar in an iconic win last year, hanging up the gloves three months later.
Despite those legendary achievements, Froch picked Floyd Mayweather Jr to come out on top in a potential fantasy fight against the Omaha southpaw, in an episode of ‘Froch on Fighting’.
Mayweather’s achievements speak for themselves, retiring with a perfect 50-0 unbeaten record after claiming world honours in five divisions, with his most impressive reign coming at 147lbs, where he defeated the likes of Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley.
Mayweather has been rumoured to make a comeback, but while there would be huge finances that would be on offer, Crawford has revealed that he would have no interest in ending his retirement for a bout with ‘TBE’, believing that the 49-year-old is ‘old’ and ‘done’.
