Terence Crawford has cemented himself as one of the greatest boxers of the modern era with his win against Canelo Alvarez. Crawford became the undisputed super middleweight champion with his win and the first male boxer to be undisputed in three different weight classes.
He is now a five division world champion as well. Crawford’s record is perfect 42-0-0 with 31 KOs, but ‘Bud’ has faced criticism regarding the quality of his opponents throughout his career. The Canelo win has put any doubt to bed.
Trainer Stephen Edwards has now claimed that with one specific win, Crawford would become the best fighter ever in boxing.
Stephen Edwards’ take on Terence Crawford
Edwards thinks if Crawford moves up to 175 lbs and beats Dmitry Bivol, he’d become the best ever to lace up a pair of gloves. Bivol currently holds three titles at light heavyweight and also has a win against Canelo at that weight. Speaking to YSM Sports Media, Edwards said:
“I think we’ve got to be fair with him. If Bud can beat Bivol, he’s the best fighter in the history of boxing. I think it’s asking too much. I don’t know if he can fight Bivol.”
Bivol, though, is physically much bigger than Crawford. ‘Bud’ moved up two weight classes to fight Canelo and a Bivol fight would push him another weight class up. Standing at 6′, the Russian is also 4″ taller than Crawford. Speaking of Bivol vs Crawford, Edwards added:
“You’re talking about a boxer that is moving, strong, bouncing in and out, and conditioned. You’re talking about a guy who has got everything that Bud has got, but he’s a natural 175-pounder with pedigree.”
Bivol stood 24 rounds toe-to-toe against Artur Beterbiev, a fighter who has knocked out every other opponent. Beterbiev’s never significantly hurt Bivol and it’s hard to imagine Crawford being able to do that.
However, in his Canelo fight, Crawford showed that he doesn’t need KO power to win a fight. That said, Canelo is naturally not a very big individual and has worked his way up through the weight classes over the years. Bivol, meanwhile, is a lifelong light heavyweight, and in terms of skill, he is cream of the crop.
Crawford previously turned down the idea of fighting David Benavidez due to the latter’s size advantage. It’s unlikely he would make an exception to fight Bivol. A move to middleweight is more likely for ‘Bud’ than light heavyweight.