Terence Crawford has commented on the current heavyweight scene ahead of major changes over the next twelve months.

Oleksandr Usyk is the current unified champion, holding the WBC, IBF and WBA belts. The vacant WBO title went to Fabio Wardley, who at the age of 31 still has years of intriguing fights ahead of him in this division

This may not be true for Usyk, who has outlined a three-fight plan that could see him retire next year. It’s a similar story for former champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The Brits have been beaten twice by Usyk and have now signed a contract to fight each other later this year, with retirement not far away.

With three players retiring, the top league will have gaps to fill. British such as Moses Itauma, Wardley and Daniel Dubois – who is fighting for the WBO belt this month – they want to climb to the very top. There is also undefeated Agit Kabayel, who is a leading contender for Usyk’s WBC world title, either through a mandatory challenge or promotion if he resigns.

Crawford still considers Usyk – the man he was competing against for the top pound-for-pound spot – as the best heavyweight in the world, and he likely won’t change that view until the Ukrainian midfielder retires.

When asked to name his number two, the American omitted the likes of Wardley, Itauma and Kabayel, instead stating that he believed Fury was still just behind the Ukrainian.

Tyson

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) March 30, 2026

Fury returned to action last month after more than a year off since his second defeat to Usyk. The “Gypsy King” contributed to his comprehensive points victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov in the following rounds, but many expected a break.

Although he insisted he wanted to fight “AJ” next, the latter’s decision to fight little-known Kristian Prenga in June prompted the Morecambe fighter to consider an interim fight of his own.

Meanwhile, other heavyweights will continue to fight for a place in the top five, with 21-year-old Itauma widely predicted to replace Usyk.

Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani meet today in a fight rarely seen in boxing: two undefeated Japanese stars, both with pound-for-pound names, fighting for the undisputed super bantamweight championship at the Tokyo Dome, live on DAZN

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Last update: 2026/05/02 at 2:47

David Benavidez was once again asked about the prospect of a fight with long-time rival Canelo Alvarez.

Benavidez and Canelo had been linked to a showdown for many years, but it never materialized and instead the two men went their separate ways.

As of 2020, Canelo has fought all but one of his fights at 168 pounds, while Benavidez opted to move up to 175 pounds, making him the WBC lightweight heavyweight champion.

The “Mexican Monster” will try to become world champion in three divisions next weekend debuts in the cruiserweight division, where he will face Gilberto Ramirezbut now fighting 32 pounds over Canelo, it looks like Benavidez hasn’t given up hope that the fight will happen.

In a clip captured by FightHypeBenavidez shared his latest thoughts on Canelo, who is expected to be at Saturday’s event to support stablemate Jaime Munguia competing on the card.

“It’s a huge event, you can judge the size of a huge event because Canelo didn’t even go to Jaime Munguia’s last fight. He says it’s for Munguia, but he’ll come to see me up close.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be gathering information for the next fight or something else. But you see how things are going, I went to his fights, now he comes to my fights.”

Canelo’s trainer Eddy Reynoso recently shot down any chance of fighting Benavidez, but the “Mexican Monster” insists he pays no mind to those comments.

“I’m going up and fighting for two titles in a different weight class, I’m focusing on that. Everyone can say what they want. I’m closed to myself now.”

Before we can even talk about a possible fight with Canelo, Benavidez will have to deal with Ramirez on Saturday.