By: Hans Themistode
Keith Thurman doesn’t truly enjoy getting involved in the personal business of other fighters. Yet, as the years have gone by, the former unified welterweight champion can’t help but notice the tenuous and somewhat disrespectful working relationship between WBO 147 pound champion Terence Crawford and his current promoter Bob Arum.
While the two have worked with each other for years now, their association has reached a rocky point. Ever since the two paired up several years ago, Arum has failed to lock in any notable fights for his pound-for-pound star. As of late, fans of Crawford have grown tiresome of the apparent no-names he has continued to face in the ring. Recently, Crawford was last seen in November of 2020, dismantling former IBF belt holder, Kell Brook. Although at one point, Brook was considered arguably the best in the division, now, he’s clearly a shell of his former self.
For Thurman, he’s sat back and listened as Crawford has called for a showdown against himself, as well current unified champion Errol Spence Jr. Yet, no matter how loud he yells, his cries have fallen on deaf ears as Arum has been unable to negotiate a high profile against anyone from the stable of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). Not only does Thurman believe that Crawford needs to pry himself away from the grip of Arum due to his failure to land him a big fight, but more than anything, Thurman just doesn’t feel Crawford gets the respect he deserves.
“When it comes to anybody on this side fighting a Bud Crawford, I just think Crawford needs to get away from Bob,” said Thurman during an interview with FightHype.com. “Bob doesn’t even give him the credit that he deserves, his promoter doesn’t even respect him. He needs to get away from that man.”
In just a few short months, Crawford will be given the opportunity to walk away from Arum as their promotional agreement is set to expire later on this year. With Arum’s Top Rank stable bereft of any top talent at 147 pounds, many have pointed to the PBC as the most likely landing spot for Crawford.
But while signing with his crosstown rival would allow Crawford to face some of the bigger names in the welterweight division including Thurman, Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, Yordenis Ugas, Shawn Porter and a long list of others, Thurman doesn’t necessarily believe that coming across the proverbial street is what Crawford needs to do.
The former three-division world champion can face several high-quality fighters without inking a promotional agreement. Just, more importantly, Thurman is simply of the mindset that Crawford needs to move on from his long-time promoter.
“Be his own man if that’s what he needs to be and I think he’ll be able to negotiate better fights from there.”
