If Terence Crawford decides to return to the ring, he will have no shortage of rivals.
The turnaround fighter from Omaha, Nebraska retired after a victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and became the undisputed super middleweight champion. This was the fourth time Crawford had won all four major league titles, and the victory improved his record to 42-0.
Instead of fighting for a big-money rematch with Mexican icon Canelo, Crawford announced his retirement from sports, wanting to spend time with his family and regenerate his body after numerous brutal training camps.
He has since strengthened his position following speculation it could be a Tyson Fury-style move, assuring fans that his time on the bench is over.
Despite this, Jermell Charlo encouraged him to return. During an interview with Talking about cigarsthe former undisputed super welterweight champion said he is still looking forward to the fight that so many fans waited for all those years ago.
“It’s a shame he didn’t fight Terence Crawford. I wish he would come out of retirement and give me a chance to fight him and just make sure we respect who the best black brother is. I think it’s me. I’m from the South, he’s a little bit from the Midwest, he’s chilly. Terence Crawford was always in the mix, even when I was an amateur.
“I have no disrespect for him, he’s a great fighter. He did what he had to do. He beat Canelo, he did this, he did that. Remember that styles create fights and that’s why you can see such a great fight stylistically. I’m changing the southpaw, Canelo won’t do all that. You see, Canelo’s fight for me, I was completely distracted from the reward. If I hadn’t been distracted, I would have handled this fight the way I had to.”
During his one-sided victory over Errol Spence Jr. in 2023, Crawford got into a fight with Charlo, who was watching the match from ringside. Charlo and Spence were stablemates at the time and revenge for the loss to “Bud” made a lot of sense, but instead Charlo took the opportunity to move up in weight and face Canelo.
While many prefer to avoid the triangle theory when making predictions, others will look to Canelo for a dominant points win and give Charlo little chance against Crawford. Regardless, this will remain a fantasy debate because if Crawford returns, it’s unlikely this will be the matchup at the top of his list.
Meanwhile, Charlo is eager to book a comeback – for the first time since that defeat – but says he’s having communication issues with PBC to make it happen. He also called up players like Spence – as both had parted ways with Derrick James – and Jaron Ennis. If he manages to get a grave fight, Crawford will almost certainly be just a bystander.