{"id":367884,"date":"2026-01-13T19:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/367884\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T19:25:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:25:10","slug":"terence-crawford-held-retirement-talk-with-former-rival-before-announcing-decision-we-met","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/367884\/","title":{"rendered":"Terence Crawford held retirement talk with former rival before announcing decision: &#8216;We met&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Terence Crawford spoke with former foe Israil Madrimov, informing him of his decision to retire before announcing it to the world.<\/p>\n<p>Crawford announced that his career in the sport was over, <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/boxing\/3552219\/terence-crawford-canelo-alvarez-undisputed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">after dethroning Canelo Alvarez<\/a> as undisputed super-middleweight champion in September with a stunning display.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Terence Crawford punching Canelo Alvarez in their clash on September 13 \" height=\"640\" width=\"960\" data-credit=\"Getty\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/blue-gloves-punches-canelo-alvarez-1023206118.jpg\" data-caption=\"Crawford closed the curtain on a wonderful career after his famous victory over Canelo\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/blue-gloves-punches-canelo-alvarez-1023206118.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Crawford closed the curtain on a wonderful career after his famous victory over CaneloCredit: Getty<\/p>\n<p>The American retired while at the peak of his powers, and many questioned if it was simply a ploy to attract a bigger fight offer.<\/p>\n<p>He had been linked with a rematch with the Mexican, and had even <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/boxing\/3708615\/terence-crawford-return-date-jake-paul\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">teased a move down to 160lbs<\/a> for a world title pursuit in March.<\/p>\n<p>But he ultimately decided enough was enough and called time, insisting that no fights would increase his legacy at this stage.<\/p>\n<p>Former rival Madrimov, who Crawford defeated to become 154lbs world champion in 2024, spoke to the American first regarding his decision.<\/p>\n<p>Read More In Boxing<\/p>\n<p>He revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/ringmagazine.com\/en\/news\/madrimov-convinced-crawford-will-remain-retired-won-t-chase-money-1\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer noopener\">to The Ring<\/a>: \u201cBefore he announced his retirement, we met, and he told me he\u2019s done, he\u2019s had enough of the sport, that he had achieved everything possible and that he\u2019s not chasing money. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He don\u2019t care about all that stuff. He has everything he needs. I\u2019m super happy for him. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When he told me this, I was thinking maybe he was just saying that and maybe he was gonna get that huge offer, and he\u2019ll take it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he said no, that he doesn\u2019t care.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>On whether he believes Crawford will stick to his decision, Madrimov added: &#8220;I believe that Terence is a man of his word. <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He said all he wants is his legacy and to leave the sport as one of the GOATs, one of the best, and without a blemish on his record. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Madrimov knew of Crawford's decision before he made it public, with the pair discussing his stance on a return\" height=\"766\" width=\"960\" data-credit=\"Ed Mulholland\/Matchroom\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/EM1_0956.jpg\" data-caption=\"Madrimov knew of Crawford's decision before he made it public, with the pair discussing his stance on a return\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/EM1_0956.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Madrimov knew of Crawford&#8217;s decision before he made it public, with the pair discussing his stance on a returnCredit: Ed Mulholland\/Matchroom<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I respect and appreciate that and wish him only the best of health and wealth for him and his big family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Should Crawford have retired?<\/p>\n<p>Crawford has done what many have done by achieving it all in the boxing ring, and hanging up his gloves while at the height of his career.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Bud&#8217; went out after making history against Alvarez, without the glum realisation he is past his best, or without any unnecessary defeats on his record.<\/p>\n<p>However, there is significant belief in the boxing world that Crawford could have gone on to make further history, and capture a world title in a sixth weight class.<\/p>\n<p>The American superstar would have been an overwhelming favourite in any fight with Erislandy Lara, and would have fancied his chances of beating Janibek Alimkhanuly.<\/p>\n<p>Heavyweight star Anthony Joshua is of the opinion that <a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/boxing\/3842966\/anthony-joshua-urges-terence-crawford-u-turn-retirement-decision\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Crawford should have continued<\/a> his breathtaking streak going.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Terence Crawford after beating Canelo Alvarez in September\" height=\"540\" width=\"960\" data-credit=\"Getty\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768332310_907_crop-3556298.jpg\" data-caption=\"Crawford achieved it all in the sport, although many was chasing further history\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768332310_907_crop-3556298.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>3<\/p>\n<p>Crawford achieved it all in the sport, although many was chasing further historyCredit: Getty<\/p>\n<p>He said: &#8220;I feel like\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/talksport.com\/who\/terence-crawford\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terence Crawford<\/a>\u00a0has got so, so much more to give.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut it\u2019s not just physical, it\u2019s what\u2019s going on in his mind. <\/p>\n<p>Read More on talkSPORT<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He\u2019s been in the game for a long time, so maybe he\u2019s like &#8216;forget it, I\u2019m done mentally&#8217;, even though physically he\u2019s good. I would love to see him continue fighting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think he\u2019s got a lot left, but we have to live and let others live by their own rules.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Terence Crawford spoke with former foe Israil Madrimov, informing him of his decision to retire before announcing it&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,6102,140708,101,9553,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-367884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-boxing-news","tag-israil-madrimov","tag-sports","tag-terence-crawford","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}