Terence Crawford: Free Agent

By: Sean Crose

Let’s face it, no one was clamoring for a rematch between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. After years of suspense as to when and if the fight would happen, Crawford absolutely devastated Spence when the the two finally met in the ring last summer. Indeed, the bout was so one sided that it was hard to imagine Spence finding a way to best Crawford in a rematch. Still, there was a rematch clause in the original contract and, so long as Spence wanted one, a rematch was legally in order.

Perhaps wisely, Spence subsequently made it clear that he wasn’t up for a rematch any time soon. It was a decision that led the rematch clause to run out. And so, Terence Crawford is no longer legally bound to fight Spence or anyone else, for that matter. In short, after fighting under the PBC banner, Crawford is now a free agent. The question now is: Where to from here for the fighter they call “Bud”? He could move up in weight and fight Tim Tszyu at junior middleweight – provided Tszyu bests Keith Thurman when they square off in the next few weeks. Or, if Thurman wins, the WBO might well make Crawford his mandatory.

Also worth considering is the fact that Canelo Alvarez has himself reportedly stepped away from the PBC tent. There has been much talk of he and Crawford fighting in what would surely be one of the stranger superfights to be made. Crawford last fought at welterweight after all, while Alvarez is the undisputed super middleweight division champion. Even at a catch weight, it would arguably be a stretch for each fighter physically to make the fight. Still, Crawford has expressed interest in facing Canelo. For his own part, Canelo hasn’t been too keen on the idea – at least not in public – of facing the smaller Crawford.

Crawford has long been one of the best fighters – if not the best fighter – of his generation. It took forever for the man to finally land a major opponent in Spence. Hopefully, at the age of 36, Crawford will be able to close out his career with more high level throwdowns. Big names, however, are hard to come by. Opponents like Tszyu, and red hot welterweight Jaron Ennis may be legitimate foils, but can they draw in the same kind of attention a fight with Canelo might bring? Hopefully someone can before the clock winds down on a brilliant career.