Terence Crawford seems to have learned about his supposed December 11 fight with Ryan Garcia the same way everyone else did: by reading Mike Coppinger’s post. His reaction was short enough to say plenty.

“Dam what I miss?” Crawford posted on X after Coppinger named him and Ryan as a possible replacement attraction if Tyson Fury’s fight with Anthony Joshua falls apart.

Dan Rafael joined the replies: “You’re fighting Ryan Garcia Dec 11 apparently 😂”

Crawford answered with laughing emojis and a question: “dam am I? Why I don’t know about this?”

That exchange doesn’t tell us what Coppinger’s sources heard. It does make the idea of a December fight look awfully thin from Crawford’s side. If he’s joking about learning of it online, nobody has given him a date to put on his calendar.

The claim arrived during a strange evening for the Fury–Joshua promotion. Coppinger reported that their December 11 fight in Cardiff could be called off because of unresolved issues, with Crawford against Ryan floated as an alternative. He then raised Tyson Fury against David Benavidez as another possibility. At that point, the proposed replacements began to sound like someone pulling names from different weight classes out of a hat.

You know I’m ready to Turki to run the fade

I’m ready!!!! 👊👊 pic.twitter.com/85sm6uvadb

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) September 26, 2026

Ryan’s situation hardly makes Crawford a simple substitute. Ryan has discussed fighting Isaac Cruz in December, while Crawford announced his retirement last year. Putting them together would require more than clearing a date on a broadcast schedule.

Crawford didn’t explicitly rule out ever fighting Ryan. He laughed at the suggestion that he was already fighting him on December 11. Until the fighters themselves have something firmer to say, that’s the distinction worth keeping.

This shows complete desperation and pure amateurism behind the scenes. When an A-side pound-for-pound star finds out he is supposedly headlining a stadium event in ten weeks by reading social media gossip on his phone, the entire promotion is flying blind.

Promoters and mouthpieces are throwing wild scenarios at the wall, hoping something sticks because the main event is on life support. The real story here is the absolute mess of Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua. The moment that fight hit contractual trouble over promotional politics, the power brokers panicked. Instead of fixing their heavyweight headache, someone leaked absurd backup options to buy time and control the narrative.

Floating Crawford against Ryan in Cardiff makes zero practical sense. British fight fans bought tickets for a massive domestic clash between two heavyweights who have spent five years posturing. Staging two American box-office draws in a stadium in Wales in the middle of December is total fantasy. On top of that, Crawford retired after conquering Canelo Alvarez and is not sitting around waiting to jump into a two-month training camp.

You do not wake up an elite technician of Crawford’s caliber and demand he cut weight to fight a dangerous puncher without serious, months-long contractual discussions. Floating Fury against David Benavidez right after only exposed how ridiculous the rumor mill had become. Promoters need to stop floating make-believe backup fights using retired legends and focus on getting their heavyweights to honor their agreements.

Eddie Hearn is playing dangerous games with this British heavyweight clash. Anthony Joshua looks eager to avoid Tyson Fury entirely. Matchroom is scurrying behind old legal clauses to ban Dana White from the promotion. When an outside investor supplies the entire purse, promoters do not possess the leverage to dictate terms.

Hearn fears the American fight executive because Zuffa Boxing represents a direct threat to his promotional territory. The Matchroom boss built a career presenting himself as the central figure of European boxing. Having a powerhouse promoter step directly into the room exposes Hearn as obsolete. Using a restrictive covenant to torpedo the mega event looks like calculated sabotage to protect Joshua from another knockout loss.

The “issue” that is jeopardizing Fury-Joshua is Dana White’s involvement, multiple sources told SI. Turki Alalshikh, who is bankrolling the fight, wants him as a promoter. AJ and Eddie Hearn don’t, and have a contract that says Zuffa can’t be. Fight very much in peril.

Chris Mannix filed this report on X.

If Alalshikh wants White running the promotion, Hearn needs to step aside or watch the money vanish. The Saudi authority holds all the cards. Matchroom cannot fund a stadium event of this magnitude independently without massive financial backing. Trying to strong-arm the financier by hiding behind fine print reveals sheer panic. Joshua has been protected for years against elite competition, so finding an administrative loophole to dodge Fury fits the usual Matchroom playbook.

Fans have waited nearly a decade to see these British heavyweights collide in the ring. Throwing the entire card into the trash because of bruised egos over Dana White confirms how terrified Hearn is of losing control. If Joshua refuses to accept the terms established by the man paying his astronomical purse, the entire boxing world will recognize this move as an outright duck.

British fight fans will never forgive Eddie Hearn if his territorial tantrum over Dana White destroys this domestic clash. The public has spent years listening to promotional spin while Matchroom manufactured soft touches to shield Anthony Joshua from reality. Torpedoing the Tyson Fury mega event over promotional vanity will permanently destroy Hearn’s standing with the UK audience.

The financial reality is equally devastating for Matchroom. Joshua will not see anything close to this kind of purse without Turki Alalshikh bankrolling the card. Traditional pay-per-view structures and gate receipts in London cannot generate the astronomical numbers offered by Riyadh. If Hearn alienates the investor paying the bills, that colossal payday disappears instantly. Matchroom cannot recreate that money pool on its own, leaving Joshua with severely diminished earnings.

Joshua is far too advanced in age to survive against legitimate punchers at the top of the division. His punch resistance vanished years ago, crumbling under the slightest pressure. Matchroom spent the era following the Andy Ruiz debacle engineering safe assignments to mask his decline. Throwing Joshua into the ring with prime contenders without that manufactured protection invites disaster.

As 2027 approaches, the standout fight that boxing fans want to see seems to be a potential cruiserweight showdown between David Benavidez and Jai Opetaiaand former two-division world champion Andre Ward has shared his verdict on the proposed bout.

Opetaia defeated the then-reigning WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian earlier this month, but he didn’t get his hands on the belt despite the win.

Instead, due to that bout not being sanctioned as a title bout, interim champion Michal Cieslak was elevated to full WBC cruiserweight world champion and ordered to face Benavidez next.

The victor of Benavidez-Cieslak, which is mooted for December 12, will then be ordered to defend all three of their world titles against two-time IBF champion Opetaia, who remains undefeated despite twice losing his status as champion.

Speaking on the All The Smoke Fight podcast, Ward detailed what Opetaia must do in order to get the better of ‘The Mexican Monster’ and claim the WBA, WBO and WBC titles.

“That is the fight that needs to get made in the cruiserweight division, David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia. It takes a lot of skill to slow down an offensive guy like David Benavidez, it’s not just skill but it’s toughness too because he is only going to respect you by hitting him.

“You are going to have to get your respect at a certain point in time, but you also can’t get dragged into throwing 100/110 punches per round or whatever it is that he throws as a cruiserweight.

“You can’t get caught up in that because that’s not your game, but you have got to do enough to let him know that you are here. You have got to land enough to let him know that you are there – and you have got to try and stay up on the points as well,

“I think, for Jai, he has got to find a healthy balance because he has got good legs. He has got to understand where to be and when to be there, what angles to take but then also to instinctively know when to stand and rumble for 5, 10, 15, 20 seconds and give David what he likes and then go back to doing what he does, which is easier said than done.”

With Benavidez-Cieslak set for December, Opetaia is expected to remain on the sidelines until his shot at the winner, with that mandated bout anticipated to take place around Cinco De Mayo next year.