Boxing
Don’t doubt Terence Crawford, even after he retired from boxing
Published
4 months agoon
An all-time great player, even though he has just entered his financial prime, announces his retirement, leaving, say, another $100 million on the table.
I know what you’re thinking.
NO.
Don’t doubt Terence Crawford. That’s what has fueled him all these years. This is what made him the undisputed champion at 140, 147 and 168 pounds. This is what made him the greatest fighter in the world (no offense to Oleksandr Usyk, for whom a case can also be made). And now, in violation of almost every boxing convention, it allowed him to retire on his own terms, undefeated at the very top of the game, after his signature victory.
The only other guy I know who has done this – and remained retired – is the great Andre Ward, who retired in 2017 after back-to-back victories over one-time featherlight heavyweight boogeyman Sergei Kovalev.
“What strikes me most about where Terence is, where I’ve been fortunate enough to get to – with your legacy, your abilities and your fortune intact – is that you’ve defeated the greatest opponent any warrior can face, an opponent who has defeated some of the greatest warriors who have ever lived,” Ward told me Tuesday night. “You have defeated the sport itself. You have overcome the doubters, the injuries, the praise and the criticism. You have overcome the risk: that single punch that could change your legacy and your life. That is slim air. You have defeated boxing.”
Boxing is full of pitfalls, starting with the fighter’s ego. The same ego that made you great makes you come back as a smaller version of yourself. Additionally, the game itself is almost rigged, favoring the bigger man against the smaller, younger man versus the older, so-called A-side fighter who generates the lion’s share of the revenue compared to everyone else. At 38, Crawford, who has spent most of his career outside the 147-pound weight class, didn’t stand out with those traits when he faced Canelo Alvarez in September. At the time, Canelo was not only the undisputed 168-pound champion, but also boxing’s most lucrative attraction. However, Crawford’s historic victory was even more one-sided than the unanimous scorecards might lead you to believe.
It all comes down to the two-sided concept of money and doubt. For a generation of fighters, some of whom were truly great but not great, the Canelo fight became the record of their lives. But for Crawford, Canelo became his “white whale,” an existential corrective to any doubters at any stage of his career. And there were plenty of them.
“This is the only fight I want,” Crawford told Turki Alalshikh, the president of the Saudi Entertainment Authority, which financed the Canelo fight.
At the time, Alalshikh was more interested in matching Crawford with Jaron “Boots” Ennis or Vergil Ortiz Jr., both undefeated 154-pound superstars. But Crawford didn’t want to hear about it.
“Boots is not a megafight,” he told me in September. “Vergil Ortiz is not a megafight. It’s the end of my career. They’ll say, ‘You were supposed to win.’ I want Canelo Alvarez.”
If you didn’t think he could beat Canelo back then, maybe you’ll think better now. Crawford will remain retired – if only because the boxing opportunities are always increasing. Doubt him if you must, just remember that when it comes to doubters, Crawford is undefeated. Before Canelo, there were those who thought he would never beat Errol Spence Jr., whose career he ended. There were those at his former promotional company, Top Rank, who honestly signed him when no other major promoter would, and concluded he would never be a huge attraction.
Crawford has had doubts in every league since the amateurs. Although in hindsight one has to wonder why, considering his amateur victory over a juvenile fighter as talented as Mikey Garcia. There was some doubt that Crawford was from Omaha, Nebraska, which was nowhere on the boxing map until he put it there.
Local police had doubts about Crawford. With the children on the corner. By some of his teachers. But most of all and most famously by his own mother, Miss Debra.
On the eve of his first title fight 11 years ago, Crawford found himself an underdog far from home, fighting Scottish champion Ricky Burns in Glasgow. Before her son left for Scotland, Miss Debra gave him her usual pre-fight pep talk. “You’re not…” she told her son. – I’ll kick your ass.
“I knew it would stick in his head,” she told me in 2018. “And he’ll go out there and kick some ass.”
In fact, that’s what happened: a little-known fighter traveling across continents to win a unanimous decision in the champion’s backyard. That’s how it started: his long, undefeated title streak.
But looking back, I think differently about Miss Debra. Mike Tyson has a theory about great fighters, starting with Alexander the Great, that they are all mommy’s boys. “That’s why Alexander kept pushing forward,” Tyson once said. “He didn’t want to come home and be dominated by his mother.”
By this standard, matriarch Crawford is on par with Olympus himself.
Thank you, Mrs. Debra.
Thank you, Terence.
It was a pleasure. It was a challenge. It was an honor.
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Boxing
Lennox Lewis gives an truthful assessment of the Vitali Klitschko fight and the reasons he retired
Published
1 hour agoon
April 26, 2026
Lennox Lewis surrendered on his own terms shortly after defeating Vitali Klitschko, but he still found it extremely arduous to hang up his gloves.
Before retiring, Lewis had firmly established himself as the all-time heavyweight champion, especially after he overtook Evander Holyfield for the undisputed crown in 1999.
Then “The Lion” would do it lost to Hasim Rahman in a shocker in 2001, then took revenge for the defeat by reaching the fourth round in the same year.
At this point he had beaten every fighter in the opposite corner, and he only continued this pattern after securing an eighth-round berth over Mike Tyson in 2002.
But instead of sailing off into the sunset, Lewis was convinced by his legendary trainer Emanuel Steward to fight Klitschko in 2003.
I’m talking to Heavenly sportsLewis said it was simply an opportunity to further cement his legacy by fighting the previous and potentially future heavyweight champion. He admitted that the performance was not pretty, but assured that he did his job.
“My coach Emanuel said, ‘Listen, you can beat the present and the future in this fight,’ and I said, ‘Well, I’ll take it.’ It wasn’t a pretty fight, but I still won.”
Indeed, it was a close fight between Lewis and Klitschko, who was ultimately stopped in the sixth round after suffering significant facial injuries.
However, Klitschko won the vacant WBC belt shortly thereafter and remained undefeated (defending the title 11 times) before retiring in 2012.
Meanwhile, Lewis was tempted to return several times, but was keenly aware of the focus and discipline he needed to compete at the highest level.
“There were many times I felt like jumping back into the ring, but stay focused [and] discipline kept me at bay.
“Let me tell you, it was difficult. I wanted to retire and say I wasn’t coming back and it was difficult to stay out of the ring. HBO gave me a job as a commentator and I was back there in front of boxing and trying to get away from boxing.
“I said I’ve done everything, I don’t have to prove anything anymore. So I stayed away from boxing.”
After retiring, Lewis became a widely respected pundit, analyst and commentator, largely due to his deep understanding of the sport.
“He’s a great fighter. He has everything,” Sulaiman told Ring Champs. “He has all-time potential. He’s a great fighter.”
Sulaiman said Stevenson’s skills have already been proven in multiple leagues, adding that the latest move has only strengthened his standing in the sport.
The comments came when Sulaiman was asked whether Stevenson could finally become boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighter. His answer was direct.
“I think so,” Sulaiman said. “He looks very good and sturdy in this weight class.”
Stevenson’s rise also became a major topic of conversation after the Teofimo fight. Sulaiman said the up-to-date division seemed to suit him physically.
At 28 years elderly, Stevenson is currently at the point in his career where accolades become expectations. Talent alone no longer divides him. The question is whether his upcoming fights match the level people currently see in him.
All the while, Sugar Ray Robinson was moving up from welterweight to middleweight and fighting the toughest monsters of his era without asking them to suck him parched. When you request a hydration clause, as Shakur did with Conor Benn at welterweight, you are essentially saying that you want your opponent to be at his weakest while you are at his best.
Sugar Ray Robinson didn’t ask for a “rehydration clause” during his fight with Jake LaMotta. He just went out and fought a much bigger, stronger man. If Shakur wants to be mentioned in the same breath, he must finally fight a fight in which he will not be the one dictated by physical disabilities.
Robinson didn’t ask for a “rehydration clause” in his fight with Jake LaMotta. He just went out and fought a much bigger, stronger man. If Shakur wants to be mentioned in the same breath, he must finally fight a fight in which he will not be the one dictated by physical disabilities.
Boxing
Gervonta Davis called out by world champion for mega fight: “I need it”
Published
5 hours agoon
April 26, 2026
Gervonta Davis’ future is currently in doubt, but that’s not stopping one of the reigning world champions from calling out ‘Tank’ for a showdown.
It was over a year since Davis last saw action in March 2025 against Lamont Roach Jr. This fight ended in a controversial majority draw, but “Tank” still defended his WBA lightweight title.
Since then, however, the Baltimore man’s life has been extremely hard. A first-time exhibition with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, scheduled for November, was canceled after Davis found himself at the center of domestic violence allegations.
Further allegations led to “Tank” losing his WBA belt and being declared champion during his hiatus, but earlier this year reports surfaced that he could return against former foe and current WBC interim super lightweight champion Isaac Cruz.
After Ryan Garcia posted, it’s yet another former foe of Davis who is now calling for a rematch social media his intention to secure a second fight.
“I pray I get a tank rematch one day. I need it back on equal footing. I need it!!!”
Garcia suffered a seventh-round loss to Davis when they met in April 2023, but “King Ry” has repeatedly said since the fight that he was far from his best as it was a 136-pound catchweight fight with a 10-pound rehydration clause.
in February Garcia defeated Mario Barrios to win the WBC welterweight titleand if Davis decides to campaign at 147 pounds, the prospect of winning world titles in another weight class could tempt him into a rematch with “King Ry.”
Lennox Lewis gives an truthful assessment of the Vitali Klitschko fight and the reasons he retired
Sulaiman says Shakur has huge all-time potential
‘ANTHONY JOSHUA BEATS TYSON FURY’ – Teofimo Lopez REACTS to Conor Benn NOT STOPPING PROGRAIS
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