Terence Crawford hung up the gloves after a career-best triumph over Canelo Alvarez, but there is one man that ‘Bud’ has now revealed that he was targeting before the opportunity to face the Mexican superstar arose.
Crawford became the undisputed welterweight world champion when he knocked out Errol Spence Jr in July 2023, six years after he completed that same feat down at super-lightweight.
The Omaha-born operator then opted to move up to the super-welterweight division and dethroned Israil Madrimov upon his 154lb debut to claim the WBA title.
However, rather than remaining at super-welterweight and seeking fights with his fellow champions, Crawford instead became the second three-division undisputed champion in boxing history by moving up two further weight classes and trumping Canelo.
On X, Crawford was asked whether he would consider coming back and taking on reigning WBC super-welterweight champion, Sebastian Fundora. In response, he revealed that he had planned on facing Fundora back when he was the unified 154lb champion, but that he was told he was not a ‘big enough star’.
“I was trying to fight him but they said I wasn’t a big enough star.”
The fight was ordered by the WBO as a mandatory/unification bout at 154lbs since Crawford had also won the interim belt when he beat Madrimov, but it ultimately fell through.
At present, despite campaigning at super-welterweight, six weight divisions below heavyweight (including bridgerweight), 6’5” Fundora is the tallest world champion in boxing and is therefore one of the most unorthodox active fighters in the sport.
Crawford has previously stated his belief that Fundora is the top dog in the super-welterweight division and that rival Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis would come up short if tasked with the appropriately nicknamed, ‘Towering Inferno’.