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The cupboard is somewhat bare at 147 pounds for Terence Crawford. Sure he could stick around and take on a few former champs such as Keith Thurman and Yordenis Ugas – or even an up-and-coming star such as Jaron Ennis, but neither of those options make a ton of sense in his opinion.
Outside of a mandated rematch with Errol Spence Jr., Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has expressed a desire to move on to the junior middleweight division. With Jermell Charlo currently occupying his time with a date against Canelo Alvarez, Tim Tszyu has emerged as someone Crawford could wind up facing.
Although nothing is set in stone, if Crawford does decide to challenge him, the ballsy Australian won’t back down an inch.
“I’d welcome that fight with both hands,” said an amped-up Tszyu to Fight Hub TV. “I’m not scared of no one.”
While a matchup against Crawford makes sense, Tszyu is still hoping to land a showdown against Charlo.
From a distance, Tszyu liked his chances of scoring the upset. Although Charlo does hold all four of the major world titles at 154 pounds, the 28-year-old doesn’t view him as some unbeatable juggernaut. Instead, Tszyu saw a fighter that, while good, isn’t the most complex to figure out. Crawford, on the other hand, presents a different set of issues.
Having fought as low as 135 pounds, Crawford, if he faces Tszyu, isn’t expected to have the size advantage. If their contest comes down to a battle of wills – Tszyu believes he’ll have him beat.
Realistically, a matchup against Crawford will force Tszyu to use his mind. Although he’s still as confident as ever, Tszyu admits that beating Crawford is as difficult a task as there is in the sport of boxing.
“Crawford’s very hard to beat, very hard to beat. When I see Charlo I see a lot of gaps, a lot of holes. But Crawford? He’s number one pound-for-pound for a reason.”