Terence Crawford’s victory lap following his remarkable win over undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez brought him to The Ariel Helwani Show, where the namesake host asked about the fight, comparisons with one of the best boxers in history and a callout from elite MMA fighter Ilia Topuria.

Crawford joined remotely, without visible damage to his face as he delivered his trademark low-key answers. 

“It definitely was one of the greatest moments of my career,” Crawford added. Pushed by Helwani on if it is the greatest, Crawford hesitated. “It’s tough, because becoming a world champion was so special to me.” 

Crawford’s first world title win was in 2014, when he traveled to Scotland and defeated Ricky Burns via unanimous decision for a lightweight belt.

“This moment [defeating Canelo] was huge, but something about that first one – this little poor kid from Omaha, Nebraska, set his sights out to be a world champion and had to travel all across the world to become world champion. And on one night, all of the dreams came true. Those two moments are definitely special.”

He’s remained special between those moments, becoming undisputed at junior welterweight and welterweight and then capturing a world title at 154lbs. And it says something about his career that eviscerating Errol Spence – in a fight awaited for half a decade and thought to be 50-50 – to unify all four major world titles at 147lbs doesn’t even make Crawford’s top two career moments.

Throughout it all, Crawford has relied on his famous ability to use his doubters as motivational fuel. 

“To be a fighter who they say can’t sell, or they lose money on, or they say don’t have enough personality – they try to hurt your career by saying these things,” Crawford said, possibly referring in part to Top Rank, which promoted him for much of his career until late 2021. “It definitely was a great feeling to see the turnout and all the supporters for both fighters…and the history-making numbers.”

The odds tightened before the fight, making Crawford a narrow betting underdog, but many felt Alvarez would be an insurmountable challenge for “Bud,” now 42-0 (31 KOs). Cliches like “there are weight classes for a reason” made the rounds, as did concern that Crawford would not be able to take Canelo’s heavy punches. 

Crawford had some advice for those who stuck to boxing’s well-worn sayings. 

“They was trying to put this narrative out in the air that, ‘It’s not possible. It can’t be done. Nobody’s never done it before. The bigger man always beat the smaller man.’ I remember telling [commentator] Max [Kellerman], ‘Who came up with that?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’ I said, ‘Right. Everybody’s just copy-and-pasting, copy-and-pasting.’ ... I think people hear things, and they just ride with it, and they don’t do they research.”

Crawford was dominant in the fight itself, evading the worst of Canelo’s onslaught while peppering the naturally larger man with precise jabs and power shots. One oft-shared moment saw Canelo shaking his head dejectedly and momentarily disengaging from the fight after eating a stiff jab. 

“It was basically like, ‘Damn! How’d I get hit with that shot?’” Crawford told Helwani. “Sometimes us fighters, we get frustrated, and he was frustrated – he couldn’t figure me out.”

After the fight, Alvarez was asked how his fight with Crawford compared to his 2013 defeat to Floyd Mayweather, who is regarded by most as the best fighter of his generation. In an instantly viral soundbite, Alvarez said, “No, I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather.” 

Questioned about that soundbite, Crawford repeated his refrain from the press conference that he didn’t want to compare himself with Mayweather. He did, however, offer a grain of insight that will surely be dissected. 

“He’s actually been in the ring with both of us,” Crawford said of Canelo. “One where he felt like he was at the best, and another where he felt like he was at a disadvantage, when he had a rehydration clause, and he was younger.” 

Lest anybody think he was casting shade on Mayweather for imposing those restrictions on Alvarez, however, Crawford added: “I don’t go off of that. Floyd was the best fighter of his era, and I feel like I’m the best fighter in my era.”

Helwani, whose background is in MMA coverage, closed the segment by asking about UFC star Ilia Topuria’s recent callouts of Crawford on social media. If Topuria expected his tweets to start a feud, he’ll be disappointed. 

“To be honest, I never even seen this dude fight,” Crawford said. “And I watch a lot of MMA, you know what I mean? Maybe I’m slipping. Maybe he’s a good fighter.”

Crawford added that Topuria should have called him out face-to-face rather than from behind a keyboard, and that he is “nowhere near the level of Conor McGregor” in terms of star power. 

He did offer some words of encouragement, however.

“Tell that guy to keep up the good work in his career,” Crawford said. “I wish him the best.”