After becoming the first three-division undisputed champion in boxing history, legendary boxing coach Abel Sanchez has called for a shock Terence Crawford retirement.
Crawford comprehensively beat the great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to become the undisputed super-middleweight king, winning world titles in a fifth weight class ranging from 135-168 pounds.
Abel Sanchez Calls For Terence Crawford Retirement
Following his monumental victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this past weekend, people are already talking about Terence Crawford’s next fight and what he may do going forward.
Crawford comprehensively beat ‘Canelo’ to become the undisputed world super-middleweight king. He also became the first man in history to secure undisputed status in three different weight classes.
The 37-year-old now boasts a perfect record of 42-0, which consists of world title victories across five different weight divisions. There is no doubt that Terence Crawford will now go down as one of the greatest fighters to ever live. Period.
However, not everyone in boxing circles wants to see ‘Bud’ fight again. One of those men is former coach of the great Gennady Golovkin – Abel Sanchez.
Himself no stranger to ‘Canelo’ having faced him three times in Golovkin’s corner, Sanchez has called for Terence Crawford to retire following his iconic victory over the great Mexican this past weekend.
Despite winning the fight convincingly, Crawford was a relatively big underdog pre-fight with boxing betting sites to beat ‘Canelo’. Now he has done so, Sanchez has called for the undefeated American to call time on his career while he’s on top.
Crawford has been urged to consider his future in the ring altogether by Sanchez, who has suggested that ‘Bud’ has nothing else to achieve in boxing.
Sanchez: ‘What Else Can He Accomplish?’
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, Abel Sanchez revealed that he wants to see Terence Crawford hang up his gloves once and for all and to retire on top of the world.
After his one-sided beating of the great Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Sanchez feels that Crawford has nothing left to achieve in boxing:
“For me, retirement,” Sanchez explained when asked to map out the future of Terence Crawford following his monumental ‘Canelo’ triumph.
“You had 70,000 people in the arena, you had everybody picking against him. He fights the kinda fight that I don’t think anybody expected. I didn’t expect it, for sure,” summaries Sanchez.
‘Canelo’ himself has revealed plans for his own future in the sport, but Crawford is yet to confirm what his plans are going forward.
Perhaps Terence Crawford’s wife will tempt her husband to hang up his gloves to spend more time with his family. Time will tell what happens.
Will Terence Crawford Retire Or Continue Fighting?
If Terence Crawford decides to fight on, he could well then defend his undisputed world super-middleweight titles against someone like David Benavidez next year.
However, Benavidez is now campaigning up at light-heavyweight and has a huge fight of his own against Anthony Yarde in November. If he wins that, he may well drop back down to 168-pounds for a super-fight with ‘Bud’ in 2026.
Another option for Crawford if he continues to fight on is to move back down in weight himself too. The 37-year-old has conquered the lightweight, super-lightweight, welterweight, super-welterweight and now super-middleweight divisions.
As a five-weight world champion and three-division undisputed champion, Crawford most definitely calls the shots on his next fight. That could well involve a move down to middleweight in an attempt to win a world title in a sixth weight class.
This could mean showdowns against the likes of Janibek Alimkhanuly, Carlos Adames or veteran Erislandy Lara. There are certainly favourable match-ups there for Crawford, who would start as a big favourite against both Lara and Adames.
Another option is to potentially face the winner of the Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn rematch. However, this seems the least likely option given Crawford’s elite status as a pound-for-pound boxing great and one of the best fighters in history.
These seem to be Terence Crawford’s most obvious options next, provided he doesn’t retire from boxing following his emphatic win over ‘Canelo’.
