WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 36-0 (27) is hoping to return to the ring before the end of the year with former world champion Kell Brook 39-2 (27) being eyed as a potential opponent.
The global coronavirus pandemic has meant that the 32-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska has not fought since December last year when he stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in nine rounds at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Crawford has used the downtime to good effect.
“I’ve been using this time for resting my body. I’m getting to spend more time with my kids and am just taking the good with the bad,” said Crawford to the Associated Press.
“I get in here and work out with the fighters that have fight dates. Normally, I’m running with them, doing strength and conditioning, sparring.”
The welterweight division is one of the most stacked in boxing but with so many of the top boxers signed to Premier Boxing Champions – including WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia – it seems unlikely that Crawford will get the opportunity to face any of them anytime soon.
“It all comes down to money,” Crawford said. “If the money was put up, those fights would be made.”
Crawford made his bones as a lightweight, outpointing Ricky Burns for the WBO strap in the Scotsman’s backyard six years ago. Successful title defences against then-undefeated Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo Beltran followed before he moved up in weight to unify all four major belts in the junior welterweight division in just seven fights.
Crawford’s run at welterweight has been equally dominant with each of his fights at 147-pounds ending via knockout. Overall, his record in world title fights is 14-0 (11).
Despite these credentials, Crawford believes he still doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
“The only reason they say that is because of how dominant I’ve been,” Crawford said. “Ricky Burns, he became champion after [fighting] me. Beltran, he became champion after me.
“A lot of people discredit those types of fighters. Then everybody gets their credit for beating those types of fighters. But me, being on the pedestal that I am, they look at me and say, ‘Oh, well, those are just steppingstone fights.’
In his younger years the lack of recognition used to bother Crawford, but not anymore. He is now resigned to the plaudits coming after he has hung up the gloves.
“They’ll give me my credit when I retire,” Crawford continued.
“Muhammad Ali, a lot of people didn’t like him. He was the villain. A lot of people didn’t like Mike Tyson, they just knew he was going to knock somebody out. A lot of people say Mike Tyson didn’t fight nobody.
“A lot of people don’t like Floyd Mayweather, but they respect him because of how talented he is. So when I look at it, I’m never going to get the just due. Just continue to keep winning. That’s it.”