Despite having announced his retirement and remained out the ring for over a year, Terence Crawford is experiencing an increasing demand to make his comeback.
The American retired as a five-division world champion last December, having also become a three-weight undisputed king after dethroning Canelo Alvarez a few months earlier.
Many regarded him as a considerable underdog but, after moving up two weight classes, Crawford cemented his greatness with a unanimous decision victory at 168lbs.
Prior to that, ‘Bud’ had dethroned Errol Spence Jr for the undisputed welterweight crown and, in terms of modern greats, he has unquestionably established himself as one of the best.
Yet despite his exit from the sport, Crawford has been repeatedly asked to gamble his unbeaten record against a selection of fighters, including Jaron Ennis.
But while ‘Boots’ is widely considered to be the most obvious opponent, Turki Alalshikh has reportedly told Mike Coppinger that he would rather see Bud square off against Canelo or Ryan Garcia.
Taking to social media, Coppinger revealed the Saudi boxing chief’s wish list which, rather surprisingly, includes a rematch between Canelo and Crawford.
Big-time fights @Turki_alalshikh tells me are on his wishlist to make:
Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua
Jai Opetaia-David Benavidez
Shakur Stevenson-Devin Haney
Naoya Inoue-Bam Rodriguez
Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez rematch
Filip Hrgovic-Rico Verhoeven
Crawford-Ryan Garcia pic.twitter.com/4dJhvFfUAW
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) September 13, 2026
Alvarez must first collide with WBC world super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli on October 31 and, even if he emerges victorious, there is unlikely to be much appetite for a second encounter with Bud.
More of a sellable product, however, would be a clash between Crawford and Garcia, who comes off a second-round finish over Conor Benn last weekend.
In doing so, the 28-year-old retained his WBC welterweight title and called for a unification match with WBA champion Teofimo Lopez, while having previously expressed his interest in facing Crawford.
