Terence Crawford can handle the criticism he gets for his level of opposition.

The undefeated three-division champion considers some of that backlash unintended praise from detractors who don’t realize he has made some quality opponents appear ordinary. What Crawford can’t understand is why some contemporaries haven’t been treated as harshly, despite that they’ve faced some foes Crawford doesn’t consider top opponents.

Crawford also emphasized during a recent interview with IFL TV that he wants to fight fellow welterweight champs Errol Spence Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, as well as former 147-pound champs Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman.

 “I want all the fights that the fans want to see me in,” Crawford said. “It’s not in my power or in my hands to actually make those fights happen. So, the only thing I can do is fight the fights that’s in front of me. And by me doing that, I get a lot of negativity and backlash on the opponents that I’m fighting. Then people say, ‘Oh, well, he’s not fighting nobody.’ Or, ‘He’s fighting this guy, he’s fighting that guy.’

“But at the same time, nobody talks about the fighters that other fighters fight. You know, and that just shows the caliber of fighter that I am, to make a good fighter look average and for the media and the people to downgrade the fighters that I’m fighting, because I’m that good.”

The 32-year-old Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) defeated Jeff Horn to win the WBO welterweight title in June 2018. The Omaha, Nebraska, native has defended that title against Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan and mandatory challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas since the former undisputed 140-pound champion moved up to the 147-pound division two years ago.

Fans most want to watch Crawford face Spence. Like fights against Pacquiao, Garcia and Thurman, though, Crawford-Spence has been difficult to put together because Crawford is promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and Spence is affiliated with adviser Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

“I don’t even wanna entertain that fight anymore, basically for the purposes of waiting until when he come back,” Crawford said. “You know, a lot of people blame me for not getting the fight made, when I have no control to get the fight made.”

The 30-year-old Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) hasn’t fought since suffering lacerations to his face and dental damage in a one-car accident October 10 in Dallas. The IBF/WBC champion has said he doesn’t want a tune-up fight once boxing returns from the COVID-19 pandemic, but a bout with Crawford won’t be next for Spence.

The strong southpaw is sure they’ll eventually meet, but Crawford seemed less optimistic. 

“Maybe we will,” Crawford said. “Maybe we won’t.” 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.