Calvin Ford thinks that if Keith Thurman beats Tim Tszyu, he could have a chance at fighting Terence Crawford.
Thurman will face Tszyu on March 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The bout will be broadcast on Amazon Prime pay-per-view.
Ford is a high-profile coach and serves as the lead voice along with his co-trainer Kenny Ellis in the career of Gervonta Davis.
The elephant in the room is Terence Crawford. The two-division undisputed champion stopped Errol Spence Jr last July in what was viewed as a 50-50 fight. But Crawford dominated the fight en route to a ninth-round technical stoppage.
Crawford was thought to rematch Spence, but that fight hasn’t gained traction and Crawford then teased a move up in weight.
Thurman-Tszyu is being contested at a catchweight of 155 lbs. – one weight class above where Crawford holds the WBC, WBA, and WBO welterweight world titles.
Ford looks at the fight as a chance for either to land a fight with the generational great Crawford.
“Like I said, the winner of this fight may have a chance to fight Terence Crawford,” said Ford. “That is motivation right there.”
Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) is coming off a lengthy layoff and chronic inactivity. He has fought three times in seven years. He went from being one of the top names in the sport to potentially missing out on facing some of the biggest names of his era – Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford and Ford doesn’t count out Thurman.
“Thurman’s got options if he pulls this one off,” added Ford with a smile during a media conference call. “Both of them have something to prove.”
Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs) is the opposite. He is seemingly trying to move as fast as possible, fighting three times in 2023. Tszyu has moved up the competition during that time, stopping Tony Harrison and beating Brian Mendoza. Now, Tszyu will look to prove he belongs in a fight with the biggest names in the sport. Thurman is his toughest test on paper, yet.
“This is going to be [an interesting fight],” stated Ford. “Tim Tszyu has been doing his thing, man. I am looking forward to that night, and seeing what is going to happen.”