Although he’s remained mostly mum, Terence Crawford has revealed to the boxing world that his ambitions are as high as ever.
The soft-spoken WBO belt holder at 147-pounds is scheduled to return to the ring in December, against dangerous puncher David Avanesyan.
Crawford had failed in his attempt to finalize a deal for an undisputed fight with WBA, IBF, WBC champion Errol Spence Jr.
In a picture-perfect world, the audacious Omaha, Nebraska, native would truncate the unified title reign of Spence, before making the move seven pounds north to take on Jermell Charlo, Spence’s good friend. Charlo is the undisputed champion at 154.
Nevertheless, while Crawford has expressed an overwhelming amount of confidence in his ability to acclimate seamlessly to the junior middleweight division, Regis Prograis believes that Crawford could be in for a long and painful night against Charlo.
“I think he can go up to 54,” said Prograis to BoxingScene.com. “Skill-wise I think he can definitely go up. I don’t think he can beat Jermell though.”
Despite the stern warnings of Prograis, Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) appears steadfast in challenging Charlo for his undisputed throne. In his most recent trip to the ring, Crawford, 35, registered his ninth consecutive stoppage victory. The latest coming at the expense of former two-time titlist, Shawn Porter in November 2021.
Still, even with Crawford protruding near the top of roughly every pound-for-pound list, Prograis sincerely doubts that his otherworldly skills will give him much of an edge over Charlo. When last seen, the truculent star was basking in undisputed glory following his 10th round stoppage win over Brian Castano.
Next up for the junior middleweight division's lone champion, will be a mandated meeting against highly ranked contender, Tim Tszyu. Though both of their worlds seem to be on a collision course, Prograis shakes his head incredulously as Crawford has publicly chastised Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) several times.
If, ultimately, Crawford refuses to heed his words, Prograis maintains that the current pound-for-pound star will simply have to learn the hard way.
“Crawford gets hit. I just don’t see him taking those punches from Jermell. Jermell hits f------ hard like he really hits hard. He can box too but that mother f----- really got some power in both of his hands. I don’t think he can mess with Jermell.”
