Terence Crawford posted a photo of himself posing with Turki Al-Sheikh at X, confirming that he is inking a deal for his mega-money fight against Canelo Alvarez in September.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Crawford used one King's crown emoji With his picture it was as if he saw him as a kind of king who was given the war he was begging for. This fight is Crawford's golden parachute retirement payday. Think of it as Canelo Vs. Jermel Charlo 2.0.

Is it asking too much for Crawford to test himself against at least one killer at 168? The Turk should hold Crawford's feet to the fire, telling him he needs to beat David Benavidez first to get that payday against Canelo. Just let Terrence fight Benavidez and let him prove that he deserves to meet King Canelo.

Mayweather Blueprint 2.0

It's kind of a mismatch. I'm just hoping Turk sells it cheap on the PPV because it's going to be a mismatch and possibly boring if Crawford follows through. Mayweather's blueprint How he fought Alvarez in 2013. Crawford's trainer, Brian 'Bomac' McIntyre, has already stated that they are going to follow Mayweather's plan by 'boxing, moving and tying up' Canelo all night. It's going to look very, very boring. He said Crawford would follow it to a tee, which was going to be pure poison for the eyes.

I wouldn't be averse to seeing Canelo vs. Crawford if it was free as part of a general membership with DAZN because it's a circus-level fight. Crawford had just moved up to 154 and looked awful, and now he's going to move up two more divisions with no experience, no testing, no title shot earned, and a fight against Canelo. It's a joke.

The Turk should kindly tell Crawford that if he wants to cash in on the Canelo fight, he'll fight Morel or Benavidez and show some grit to show he deserves to be in the king's presence. Let me tell Crawford. I'll break it to him.

Former four-division world champion Crawford looked like an average fighter last August, moving up from 147 to 154 to challenge WBA champion Israel Madrimov for his title.

The two divisions are far apart

Crawford was unimpressive, having to rally late to win a 12-round unanimous decision over Madrimov. He could have easily lost that fight if Madrimov had realized that he needed to go on the attack instead of continuing to potshot. The 40-ish-looking Crawford's performance shows he'll hit his ceiling for what he's capable of.

If he moves to 160 to face the murderous Genebek Alimkhanouli or 168 to face Benavidez, the jig will be up. Crawford would be killed because of the size, youth and talent of these fighters.

Given the 37-year-old Crawford's fight against Canelo is a further downer for the sport, fans are divided on whether turning boxing into a non-sport is a good thing. Obviously, in a real game, Crawford would have to outplay other teams to get to the top tier.

There will be a season, playoffs and then the finals. We see Crawford getting the jump on fighters who will likely beat him like David Benavidez, David Morel, Diego Pacheco, Christian Mbili and Oseles Iglesias. It would make sense if this was an exhibition fight, but it isn't.

Crawford is moving up two weight classes to get an unexpected world title shot against WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champion Canelo in September. How is this allowed to happen?

👑🤫 pic.twitter.com/Dbwka4qise

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) January 13, 2025