Terence Crawford isn’t normally a guy who takes shots at other fighters, but recently, he made an exception.
Crawford played a popular social media game ahead of his fight on Saturday with Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles, and the usually mild and humble all-time great spewed some venom when describing WBO super lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez.
Crawford played the describe-these-fighters-in-one-word game for ESPN, and while he described Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Canelo Alvarez, Madrimov, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, and Jaron “Boots” Ennis as “great,” when an image of Lopez appeared, the three-division champion called his former Top Rank stablemate “trash.”
Here is a look at the clip:
The beef between Crawford and Lopez has heated up this year.
YSM Sports posted this video, which tracked many of Crawford’s posts while Lopez was involved in a close fight with Jamaine Ortiz. After the comments from Crawford, you can see a short interview with Lopez that happened before his fight with Ortiz.
In this YouTube Short, Lopez tells fans that he wants to fight Crawford, as he is chasing “greatness.”
The Crawford-Lopez beef is pretty standard for the boxing world, but what’s particularly interesting here is Crawford’s increasing willingness to show aspects of his personality we didn’t get to see when he was promoted by Top Rank.
Since Crawford has gone the free-agent route and partnered with Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, Bud has been the beneficiary of stylized promotion and media access that wasn’t in place in years past.
You wonder if the new approach has opened up another side for the all-time great. In any case, Crawford finally looks and Crawford faces a significant challenge with Madrimov. If he emerges victorious on Aug. 3, he’ll have a plethora of options.
The event, which is a huge card, will take place at BMO Arena in what will be the first Riyadh Season card to take place in the United States. Crawford is already one of the biggest stars in the sport.
If he defeats Madrimov, he’ll have a line of opponents hoping to get a shot at him. Ennis has been calling Crawford out for nearly a year, but the latter has been transparent with his reasons for bypassing the challenge.
Crawford believes he has progressed past the point of fighting a young lion like Ennis. Crawford would undeniably be the A-side, and from a monetary and exposure standpoint, Ennis needs Crawford more than Bud needs Boots.
That’s not a disrespectful concept; it’s just reality.
Crawford has made it clear that he would prefer a big-money rematch with Errol Spence or a dream fight with Canelo Alvarez–even though that fight would force Bud to move up to super middleweight.
However, you have to wonder if Crawford’s apparent disdain for Lopez could influence him to take the fight with Teofimo. If the two men did meet, Crawford would likely demand it take place at 154 pounds, which is only right considering he has the more significant following and better resume.
Lopez may not go for that deal, considering he has been especially choosey with opponents lately, facing Ortiz in February and Steve Claggett in June.
In any case, all the talk only adds to the building story and anticipation for Saturday’s fight between Crawford and Madrimov.
I’ve written an introductory piece about Madrimov and a how-to-watch article for the entire event here.
Read the full article here
