Young, prideful, and full of confidence, Terence Crawford, at least initially, couldn’t care less about the pound-for-pound discussion. Ultimately, his biggest and only dream was to become a world champion. However, after checking off that goal on countless occasions, the now 35-year-old saw his name emerge on that very list.
Hubris would soon set in as Crawford continued to dominate his competition. Now, having reigned over three separate weight classes, the Omaha, Nebraska, native is convinced that he and he alone should be viewed as the best fighter on the face of the planet. His thought process, nevertheless, is merely conjecture.
Although those mythical lists vary, Crawford becomes agitated when he sees fighters such as Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and others ranked above him. But while he respects their overall abilities and accomplishments, as well as the opinions of those who put together those rankings, Crawford has a hunch that in roughly two months, his name will become a permanent fixture on everyone’s list.
On July 29th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) will officially square off against fellow welterweight champion, Errol Spence Jr. To a large extent, Spence is considered a dominant fighter and pound-for-pound star in his own right.
His accolades, nonetheless, have made Crawford salivate. With training camp in full force, Crawford stops pummeling the speed bag for a moment and takes some time to soak in what’s about to take place.
For years, the slick switch-hitter has been forced to hear his naysayers rip his resume to shreds. Now, should he pick up the win on the 29th of July, Crawford believes that if he isn’t considered the best fighter around, his detractors will be disingenuous.
“It’s just chatter,” said Crawford to MMA Fighting on SBN when asked about his position on the pound-for-pound list. “Some people have their preferences of who they feel is number one pound-for-pound but after July 29th, there will be no discussion or no conversation on who the number one pound-for-pound fighter is.”