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What Terence Crawford saw before he retired

Published

7 months ago

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Image: BoMac Says Crawford Will Keep His Belts and Not Face Benavidez

“No, not at all. That would be stupid of me,” Crawford said. “I’m 38 years vintage. 38 years in boxing. I’ve been boxing since I was seven. I have nothing more to prove. I have nothing else to achieve.”

The response did not concern a correction to the minutes. It was about rejecting the idea that boxing had forced its hand on him. Crawford wanted to make it clear that he left on his own terms. However, his next comment revealed much more than he probably intended.

“They’re not going to admit I’m wrong anyway, so it doesn’t really matter,” Crawford said.

This line explains everything. Crawford isn’t saying there are no more risky fights. He says there are no more fights that reward him for taking real risks. Victories no longer lift his spirits. Losses would destroy the entire narrative.

There was a fight with Carlos Adames in the middleweight division. He didn’t promise a gigantic payout and offered a compact loan if you won. That would be brutal too. Adames is juvenile, aggressive and hunts opponents. This isn’t a fight where Crawford can rely on punching, running and holding to survive.

In the super middleweight division, the situation was even worse.

After defeating Canelo Alvarez, Crawford faced immediate pressure to defend against Christian Mbilli, Lester Martinez and Osleys Iglesias. They are the juvenile lions of the division – fighters who apply constant pressure and do not give senior technicians time or space to manage the rounds.

At the age of 168, Canelo’s last title defenses were against Edgar Berlanga, Jaime Munguia, William Scull and the well-to-forty Gennady Golovkin. This environment would not protect Crawford for long.

There was also a clear line he didn’t want to cross. When Turki Alalshikh publicly suggested a fight with David Benavidez, Crawford immediately silenced her. The balance of risk and reward didn’t make sense to him.

There were already warning signs in the ring. Crawford defeated Canelo by two scores of 115–113 and a questionable 116–112, which was met with criticism.

Earlier, Crawford took a narrow decision at 154 against Israil Madrimov and still didn’t look like the best fighter in the division.

If Crawford had been forced to work his way to Canelo by fighting Mbilli, Martinez or Iglesias first, there’s a real chance he wouldn’t have made it to that fight at all. These warriors don’t wait. They don’t age. They hunt. This is a scenario Crawford avoids.

Critics such as Oscar De La Hoya have already questioned the content of Crawford’s resume, arguing that his two signature wins came against 35-year-old Canelo and Errol Spence Jr., years after a near-fatal car crash. Crawford hears these arguments. And he knows what will happen if he loses again.

“When you’re so much better than the competition,” Crawford said, “and you make them look like they’ve never looked before, everyone says, ‘Oh, they’re washed, or that guy’s a bum.'”

This is not self-confidence. It’s the fear of reversal. Because if Crawford had stayed and lost – once, twice or repeatedly – ​​the mystery would have disappeared. Paydays would shrink. The conversation will turn around overnight. And the idea that he was protected by timing and mate selection would no longer be theoretical.

Retirement now makes such settlement impossible. He didn’t leave because boxing had nothing for him anymore. He left because staying on the show risked revealing more than he wanted to see.

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Boxing

Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshuas Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns

Published

18 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Usyk Analyzes Anthony Joshua's Performance Against Kristian Prenga After Overcoming Two Knockdowns"

Oleksandr Usyk has shared his reaction to Anthony Joshua‘s dramatic knockout victory against Kristian Prenga.

Usyk nearly suffered his own shock defeat in May when he was pushed to the limit by kickboxing star Rico Verhoevenand two months on it was nrw teammate Joshua’s turn to come close to a massive upset loss that would have stunned the heavyweight division.

The Brit was dropped twice by massive underdog Prenga in the opening round of their clash in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but ‘AJ’ managed to recover and record a big knockdown of his own in the second round that resulted in the stoppage victory.

Joshua and Usyk now train together, having famously had two battles for the unified world heavyweight title in 2021 and 2022, and the Ukrainian has had his say on his stablemate’s victory over Prenga.

Speaking to TalkSporttwo-time undisputed champion Usyk praised Joshua, insisting ‘AJ is back’ before predicting that Joshua will now claim a knockout win over long-term rival Tyson Fury in his next bout.

“Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion. First round it’s a test but AJ is back.

It’s boxing, [the] big upper cut is good, it’s a knockdown. AJ [come] back and win.

“Greedy Belly [Fury] will speak now and say weak chin, Greedy Belly get out. AJ wins [against Fury], [he will] knock him out.”

Fury was victorious on Friday as he earned a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach in Thailand, paving the way for the showdown against Joshua later this year.

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Boxing

Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshuas Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns

Published

20 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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"Jake Paul Reacts to Anthony Joshua's Stunning Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Two Early Knockdowns"

Jake Paul was the last man to fight Anthony Joshua and he has now revealed his verdict on AJ’s chaotic victory over Kristian Prenga.

Joshua went up against Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturdayin a clash that was expected to be a comfortable win for the former world heavyweight champion in order to set up the long overdue battle against Tyson Fury.

Any hopes of seeing that clash were nearly ended after AJ was dropped twice in the opening round of the bout, though he was able to recover and claim the second round knockout to come out on top and prevent a stunning shock upset from taking place.

Saturday’s outing saw Joshua back in the ring for the first time since his sixth round triumph over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul back in Decemberand now ‘The Problem Child’ himself has shared his reaction to his former rival’s victory over Prenga.

Posting on social mediaPaul praised AJ for earning the win, after returning to action following the tragic car crash he was involved in at the end of last year which took the lives of his two close friends.

“Happy for Joshua with that win after all he’s been through. Remembering Sina and Latz with this one.”

The win for Joshua should now tee up for meeting with Fury later this year, after ‘The Gypsy King’ held up his end of the bargain by also securing a win in his warm-up bout on Friday, securing a seventh round retirement win against Mariusz Wach.

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Boxing

Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshuas Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Published

20 hours ago

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July 25, 2026

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Tony Bellew Reviews Anthony Joshua's Comeback Victory Over Kristian Prenga After Knockdown Drama

Anthony Joshua may have earned a knockout win over Kristian Prenga but the fight certainly didn’t unfold as most people expected.

Joshua was facing the Albanian in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and it looked like a massive upset could be on the cards when he was dropped twice in the opening round.

‘AJ’ was able to recover and went on to secure a second round knockout victory to prevent the shock lossseemingly paving the way for the battle against Tyson Fury later this year.

One man who was ringside to witness the battle was former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellewand he praised Joshua’s ability to turn things around in the fight after describing it as ‘chaos’.

“We predicted round two but I don’t think we foresaw that. That was chaos. He doesn’t see the uppercut coming and finds himself on the floor without knowing how he got there.

“The second one he did see it coming and he was able to clench down on the jaw. He got up and then the experience that he has he used tonight because he tied him up. Against Andy Ruiz he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t know how to do that, but tonight he did.

“He showed once again there is no quit. To be that hurt in the first round and get up, that’s the recoveries of power. People talk about your chin, but it’s not, it’s the level of fitness that gets you up from the floor.

“When Joshua gets a fighter hurt he’s the best finisher in the division. Whenever he hurts someone they’re gone. I haven’t seen him drop anybody and they survive, only Andy Ruiz. He’s a ruthless finisher.”

The clash between Joshua and Fury is now expected to be announced soon for later this year, after Fury won his own interim fight on Friday by defeating Mariusz Wach.

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