Terence Crawford appears to be definitely aiming to beat Canelo Alvarez, but the elite pound-for-pound fighter and undefeated four-division champion can’t deny that he’s a target, too.

Last week, WBA junior middleweight champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KO) was summoned by former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor to take part in the dual boxing-MMA series, via social media wunderkind Ryan Garcia during the mandatory fight Crawford earned in fight against WBO/WBC 154-pound champion Sebastian Fundora, emerges.

Both McGregor and Crawford have expressed interest from Saudi Arabian boxing broker Turki Alalshikh in organizing a two-fight MMA boxing series between the pair.

McGregor said in a video blog in which Crawford told him: “I don’t feel like taking a kick.”

Crawford replied: “I’m not going into any octagon, so you can start kicking and elbowing me. We would make a lot of money, but (McGregor) isn’t going to kick me.”

McGregor took part in the second most lucrative pay-per-view fight of all time in 2017 when he was stopped in the 10th round by Floyd Mayweather Jr.

McGregor, 36, has not fought in the UFC since suffering a second straight loss to Dustin Poirier in 2021, and the push for him to fight Michael Chandler was marred by injuries and drug testing requirements.

He previously tried to box with recent International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Manny Pacquiao.

“Conor McGregor is basically a combat sports prostitute – you can kick his ass whenever you want and he’ll let you kick his ass. He’s committed to it,” former welterweight boxing champion and McGregor’s former sparring partner Paulie Malignaggi said on Thursday’s edition of ProBox TV’s “Top Stories.”

“I’m starting to wonder if there’s sadism, masochism in it: he likes it as long as he gets paid.”

Mentioning Crawford’s name is a risky endeavor, former 140-pound champion Chris Algieri told Top Stories.

“Crawford is much meaner than Mayweather. With his killer instinct, he will really hurt you. And he is the No. 1 busy player on a pound-for-pound basis,” Algieri said.

Malignaggi said McGregor was demeaning his sport by rushing to get involved in such a one-sided ring scandal.

– Aren’t you ashamed, buddy? Malignaggi asked, calling McGregor’s proposal a “clown show.”

Meanwhile, Algieri described Crawford’s lack of interest in the MMA side as shrewd.

“Terence obviously got kicked… if he did one (fight) in the ring and one in the cage, as long as he did the one in the ring first… because Terence will kick (McGregor’s) ass,” Algieri said.

The request to suspend Garcia, who was sued in Up-to-date York last week by his April 20 opponent Devin Haney, is off the table, Algieri theorizes, because Crawford is clearly looking for an opponent who will inspire him to train furiously while also seeking a record sum as his career comes to an end end at the age of 37.

Meanwhile, Fundora is a fascinating foe because the fight could take place in early winter and a victory would make Crawford a three-belt junior-middleweight champion one victory shy of becoming the first three-time undisputed champion of the four-belt era.

Crawford on Monday asked for a 10-day extension of the negotiation period with Fundora, which will end around Oct. 12 around the undisputed airy heavyweight championship fight between Russian Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

Alvarez has expressed interest in a rematch with Bivol, who defeated him by unanimous decision, in 2022. If Beterbiev wins, it’s unclear whether Alvarez will want that fight or a cash grab with the much lighter Crawford, the favorite fighter of the enriched Alalshikh.

A trip to Fundora now seems perfect for Crawford.

“It’s a winnable fight,” Malignaggi said. “You see a path to build on. Suddenly (the undisputed champion again) starts to look more realistic, and the legacy comes with a substantial reward.”

Should he defeat Fundora, Crawford would only be missing the IBF belt in the October 19 fight between former champion Tim Tszyu and recent IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.

And unlike Canelo Alvarez, who will choose who he fights next, “Terence Crawford is at the controls” along with others.

For Crawford, the best thing for the sport will be to stay at 154 pounds, either rule the division after doing so at 140 pounds and welterweight, or allow Oct. 19 favorite Tszyu to replace Crawford because he offers the ability to carry “superstar potential” into a recent generation. “

Jai Opetaia gives the advantage to WBA lithe heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in his fight against undefeated knockout machine Artur Beterbiev in eight days on October 12. IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia admits that he is a fan of Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) and would like to fight him or Beterbiev in the future.

Opetaia (25-0, 19 KO) defends his IBF title against Jack Massey on the Beterbiev-Bivol card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. His immediate goal is to win all the cruiserweight titles against other champions, but if the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol is moving up, he would like to fight them.

“It’s boxing. I have been involved with this sport all my life. I believe I can beat anyone in this ring,” said Jai Opetaia Queensberry about how he measured Artur Beterbiev. You just have to fight intelligent and do the right things. I believe that with my skills I can do it against any player.”

Opetaia would have a better chance of defeating Bivol due to his power and size advantage. Bivol is the boxer who forced Opetaia into a boxing match. He would have a good chance of winning such a fight. Beterbiev would be more challenging for Opetai because he fights from the inside, which is an area where he is delicate.

Opetaia is a type of fighter who throws potshots from the outside and dives to deliver single blows. This style would not work against Beterbiev, who would force an internal fight and chop Opetaia.

“He’s the perfect forward fighter against a boxer who cuts at an angle,” Opetaia said of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol. “I’m leaning more towards Bivol because I’m more of a fan of his. I love his style. It’s going to be a good fight. I’m really interested in this.”

Of the two 175-pound champions, Beterbiev will most likely move up to the cruiserweight division to challenge Opetai, but only if he wins over Bivol. If he loses, Beterbiev will want a rematch and he will get it if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is interested in watching their fight again.

“Of course I will. I will always fight in the evenings and judge everyone since I was an amateur, when I was shooting tournaments,” Opetaia said when asked about his thoughts on a potential fight with Beterbiev or Bivol. “It’s something in the future that could easily happen.

“It’s one of those megafights that builds a profile. I have to do my job and mind my own business. The winner of this fight will be huge. It’s definitely possible, but right now my only focus is on winning the cruiserweight belts. But if such opportunities arise, I will definitely take advantage of them,” Opetaia said about his interest in fighting the winner of the Beterbiev vs. fight. Bivol.

It’s understandable why Opetaia is judging Beterbiev after hearing about his interest in fighting him. It would be foolish for Opetaia to assume that he will win because he is bigger than him, because he is not as talented as him or prepared for internal combat. I’ll say it again: Opetaia only fights with potshots and doesn’t know how to fight in close combat.

One of the best weeks in women’s boxing this year took place last week, when fighters appeared in no fewer than three major televised events.

On Friday, Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan fought in what ultimately turned out to be the best fight of the weekend. It was a classic battle of power and speed, and Mayer’s footwork and hand speed ultimately prevailed. It was a close fight that deserves a rematch, especially since it suits both of them considering the crap investments they made during the pre-fight hype.

With this victory, it was proposed that Mayer would become the recent No. 2 welterweight, swapping places with Ryan, who is currently ranked No. 3.

“The fight between Mayer and Ryan was very close, but I think Mayer was the basic winner, although the cards should have been closer,” said Irene Deserti, editor of Rincon Rojo magazine. Her feelings were shared by radio host Cynthia Conte, who said that “it was a very close fight and there should be a rematch. They would be on their knees again and there would be a lot of money behind the rematch.”

Others expressed doubts. “I thought Mayer beat Baumgardner and Jonas early in her career, but she had to do more to take the titles away from Ryan,” said columnist Mark Jones. “Ryan won that fight even though her corner team was amateur and didn’t do her any favors. “The fight should have been canceled after an unknown perpetrator threw paint on it while leaving the hotel,” the author said, referring to an incident that clearly did not receive adequate coverage from the forces behind the brawl.

“It was a great pleasure to watch such a valuable battle between Mayer and Ryan,” said Japanese writer Yuriko Miyata. “They both gave their all and I saw that Ryan was close to winning despite this incident.” Boxing historian Malissa Smith, who was present at the fight, said that “Mayer was quick to execute while Ryan was able to assert his strength in the later rounds, although I felt that Mayer’s feet and deft apply of the chin gave her the advantage in scoring.”

On Saturday, we witnessed a terrible end to what was supposed to be the demolition of Alycia Baumgardner, who showed no signs of ring rust and went right for the neck of the now legendary Delfine Persoon in the 130-pound bout. An accidental cut by Persoon resulted in the fight being declared a no-contest, but it was clear that ring champion Baumgardner was well on her way to a decisive victory.
As a result of this result, Baumgardner remains the ring champion and Persoon takes the top spot in an otherwise tender division.
“Baumgardner looked good in her return to action and I don’t think she has an opponent of her caliber in the junior lightweight division,” said writer and television producer Yesica Palmetta.

“Persoon is 100% a future Hall of Famer, but he should be retired,” Jones added. “Since the fight with Katie Taylor five years ago, he has suffered from cuts and swelling due to impaired reflexes. That said, Baumgardner looked good and deserved her spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.

“A tough break for Baumgardner, who was coming off a confident stoppage victory over the former Persoon,” said writer Christopher Benedict. “Too many battles over too long had taken their toll on the Belgian warrior. As Mark suggested, it was time for her to hang up her gloves and start writing her Hall of Fame speech.

Sandy Ryan (right) and Mikaela Mayer (left) exchange blows during their welterweight title fight – photo: Mikey Williams

In another remarkable battle, Terri Harper was the most outstanding winner of all three major events, defeating fellow Briton Rhiannon Dixon in a bragging war for pride and country. Naturally taller and stronger, Harper was the slight favorite and made good apply of her advantages to keep Dixon at bay and score enough points to secure a solid victory in the lightweight battle.

Harper, who is unranked at 135, is in second place, pushing Dixon into fourth place and pushing Germany’s Beke Basa out of the top five.

“I really liked Harper’s performance,” Palmetta said. “She looked very good at 135 pounds. I think Dixon was invalidated by the power that characterizes Harper.

Conte agreed, saying that “Harper looked great fighting off the back foot against Dixon. They both landed nicely, but Harper just looked exceptional. I’m glad she’s back down.

“I know I wasn’t alone in suspecting that the beating Terri Harper received at the hands of Sandy Ryan in March would be extremely hard for ‘The Belt’ to recover from,” added Benedict, “but I take my hat off to Harper for a great performance on Saturday , handing Rhiannon Dixon her first defeat to win the belt and become a three-division world champion.”

Because Harper was previously rated at 154 pounds, the ratings in that division had to be changed. Everyone moved up one place, and Canadian Mary Spencer became the recent number 5, returning to our rankings again.

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