Terence Crawford has named a Hall of Famer he was supposed to face in 2021, only for their showdown to fall by the way side.
Ultimately, ‘Bud’ has no regrets about how his career unfolded, especially with him becoming a three-division undisputed champion against Canelo Alvarez last September.
At the same time, though, there is seemingly a shred of disappointment that his blockbuster clash with Manny Pacquiao never quite materialised.
The pair were closing in on an agreement to collide in June 2025, back when Crawford had just successfully defended his WBO welterweight title against Kell Brook.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, was coming off a WBA title defence against Keith Thurman, who he defeated by split decision after scoring a first-round knockdown.
A unification match with Crawford was then becoming increasingly likely, only for financial backers in Abu Dhabi to pull the plug on their investment.
Speaking with ESPN, Crawford named the eight-division world champion as the only fighter, past or present, that he was eager to test himself against.
“The only fight I felt got away from me is the Pacquiao fight. But all the fighters before me – I don’t ever look at them and think, ‘I want to fight him’. I was just happy to watch them and learn from them.”
Following the collapse of his fight with Crawford, Pacquiao was supposed to face Errol Spence Jr, the then-WBC and IBF welterweight champion, in August 2021.
With Spence pulling out due to a torn retina, however, ‘Pac Man’ ended up facing Yordenis Ugas and lost his title via a unanimous decision.
