The boxing world is chilly. We had been barely hours faraway from Terence Crawford’s virtuoso destruction of Errol Spence Jr. when the subject shifted from the conquest to “the following.”
So, yeah, let’s go there, too.
Crawford, now with all 4 welterweight belts and driving excessive on a surge of profession momentum, has a number of viable choices. And if the pay-per-view numbers are nearly as good as some count on, he’ll lastly have the leverage to select and select the battles that take advantage of sense for him.
Let’s check out what’s on the market for “Bud.”
A Spence Rematch
No person however, possibly, a nest egg-minded Terence Crawford, needs to be enthused about the opportunity of Errol Spence exercising his rematch clause. This loss was past complete and, if typical boxing knowledge holds true, the rematch would ship the identical end result, solely extra decisively. That’s a scary thought. Clearly, Crawford has Spence tactically deciphered. Instantly operating this battle again, even with seven extra kilos on their frames, could be a pointless (and painful) endeavor. Possibly a pair fights down the road, at a better weight and with Spence making some basic adjustments to his sport, the rematch may very well be revisited. But when Saturday’s pay-per-view seems to be a monetary success, count on the concept of a rematch to realize nearly irresistible traction.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis
Ennis is simply coming into his bodily prime as a soon-to-be 36-year-old Crawford is easing out of it. By all indications, the 26-year-old is the inheritor to the welterweight throne and an rising “subsequent huge factor” famous person, however would he have what it takes to beat a savvy, powerful, and still-physically elite Crawford? It’s pretty unlikely we get that reply, although, for the reason that stars don’t appear to be aligning for a Crawford-Ennis conflict anytime quickly. For Crawford, there’s the opportunity of a Spence rematch and the pull of turning into a unified four-belt champ in a 3rd division with a transfer as much as 154. With a lot cash and so many trinkets on the market, it’s powerful seeing even a hardcore competitor like “Bud” wanting what’s going to quantity to a pay reduce for the big-time problem of a younger, hungry “Boots.” Crawford-Ennis just isn’t out of the query, but it surely’s in all probability in a agency third place amongst all attainable choices.
Jermell Charlo
Charlo has a giant battle two divisions larger in opposition to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in September and it has but to be decided whether or not he’ll have the ability to hold his 4 junior middleweight belts whereas he makes a run on the 4 tremendous middleweight belts. However, if he loses to Alvarez and is allowed to maintain his titles at 154, Charlo may very well be assembly Crawford for unified champ standing at junior middleweight in some unspecified time in the future within the first quarter of 2024. That’s a variety of “ifs,” although. Given the plain dangerous blood between the 2 and the increase that may give to its salability, a Crawford-Charlo bout is more likely to happen in some unspecified time in the future, even when some, one, or not one of the junior middleweight belts are on the road.
Tim Tszyu
The second technology Australian star is driving a wave of optimistic publicity and he presently holds the interim WBO junior middleweight title. If unified champ Jermell Charlo is finished at 154 and Tszyu is elevated to full champ standing, Crawford concentrating on Tszyu makes a variety of sense.
Keith Thurman/Yordenis Ugas
That is in all probability the least compelling of the accessible choices, however Thurman and Ugas– regardless of trending downward as viable top-level contenders– each make respectable opponents ought to Ennis, Charlo, and a run at 154 generally fail to materialize. If the rumored Thurman vs. Ugas bout occurs later this yr, Crawford might face the winner early subsequent yr. Once more, nonetheless, that is final resort stuff.
