Terence Crawford announces retirement

Are you referring to Pacquiao, Usyk, or Crawford?

 

I can see what you are saying but I did concede that the madrimov fight was the one where he was challenged more than any other.
But he was still comfortable he just had a few puzzles to work out, I have to say that madrimov is massively underrated, but the truth is that he was outclassed by a fighter that had just came up in weight. That was probably the hardest fight that Crawford could have taken at the weight, and being the type of fighter that Crawford is I would bet that it was the fight he enjoyed the most.
I’m an arrogant mofo so, when you rate a fighter, you look at the opponent’s they have beaten, the resume, the number of champions they fought, the number of weight classes, and so on and so on, I get that and that’s great for having a debate.
But I will always put my opinion before anything, and that sounds even more arrogant but what I mean is he ticks the most boxes for what I like in a fighter/champion.
He doesn’t have the resume that compares to the rest of the greats but he has the performances that are so many levels above his opponents, the Spence fight is a great example of him absolutely taking a fighters soul, it’s great that everyone says with hindsight that Spence was done but the truth is he was favoured by many, I don’t know why you are bringing up Jared Anderson and benavidez because they fight at different weights.
When you say that boots would have been less of a freak fight, I completely disagree it would have been a complete freak fight, boots didn’t have a title and looked very poor in most of his fights, the only reason the fight would have happened Is because a few fans wanted it, but even if both fighters had wanted the fight the truth is it’s not doing enough numbers for a promotion to bother with.
Crawford at his age only had a finite amount of fights left so he had no reason to fight boots, he’s a prize fighter who never got the prize money he deserved.
Resumes are a nice thing, but it’s all performance for me, let’s look at Floyd he had some controversial decisions in his career, even SRL against haggler where he clearly lost, Crawford doesn’t have the resume of those guys but he doesn’t have any controversy either, Floyd stacked the deck in his favour at every opportunity and as a champion and the money maker who wouldn’t? Well what we saw with Crawford was a fighter who fought the best he could get and stacked the cards against himself if anything.
The saddest thing about Crawford is I don’t think he ever really reached his full potential, he didn’t have the peers to push him like SRL or Floyd had, I won’t ever win an argument about him being the greatest ever but I don’t need to get into one, it doesn’t matter to me.
The fact is he gave me the most enjoyment from watching him fight and the things he did in the ring were a level above for this generation, does that mean more than a resume? It does to me.
People try to make a case for the greatest using this fact and this stat, but it’s only ever going to be your preference.
The only 3 division undisputed champion who retired undefeated and after his biggest win, who has probably left a good 100 million still on the table, well in that regard he’s out there on his own.

 

First I have to say that I value the depth and personal nature of your answer greatly!

Also I'm in agreement with most of what you're saying. The ultimate way to judge a fighter to me is one's own personal impression.

Basically all records and statistics can be skewed and are highly influenced by the economic potential of a fighter. Most only use statistics to argue their feelings, but there is also the worse case where people are lulled in by statistics like undefeated or ko ratios or undisputed. Let's be honest and try to express what we actually value from what we can see with our own eyes and expertise as viewers. Let's have our own opinion!

I saw the madrimov fight in a different light, I had crawford get at best a draw. But to be sure I would have to review it. I heard I'm far from the only one, though. But I was truly shocked by the way he handled spence.

Also when he competed at super middle and didn't look out of place at all, it made me question him as a weight bully for the first time. That is out of the norm in a way that it makes me question things. Weight bully is a term that is often questioned, but I wonder how people legally rehydrate that much and stay functional.

Which leads into the deck stacked against him. Having read lots of serges posts, I refer to those to say that in most of crawford's fights he was taller, longer, heavier with home town advantage and home judges. He was even taller and heavier than madrimov. So I don't see the deck stacked against him apart from him not being accustomed to fighting at the weight classes in his last two fights.

But your post has me question for the first time if that is actually the way I want to argue - I will think about it...

Now as I said I really value your answer and actually assume from it that you watched crawford for longer and probably with more expertise than I did. And I was way more of a fan of his before his last two fights where I feel madrimov got given the short end of the stick and canelo was so ripe for the Picking.

Which is why I want to ask you if you want to go into details over what soecifically you appreciate more in him than in all others of this generation. I won't actually argue against it, I might just rewatch a few fights with a different perspective or heightenes senses.

Cheers

 

I’m with you on the weight thing, very few fighters actually fight at their true weight but that’s how it goes, you offset the cut against the loss in other areas, Crawford definitely did that.
The difference between him and others from his generation is that he is looking to break you down and take your soul.
His composure is like no one else and if you are looking for proof then you can go and watch when he is getting caught or taking one to give a counter, pause it the moment he gets caught and he doesn’t even blink he barely ever does in the pressure of a fight.
He adapts to his opponent and he is always able to throw a shot with accuracy, on the back foot front foot, switching stance.
He never rushes his work and has an ability to know when to go for the finsh, and when he does he does it with a ruthlessness accuracy that sets him apart from anyone else, he absolutely peppers his opponents often as they are almost on the floor and even then he’s stood over them ready but restrained.
He’s loyal to his team and has brought them up with him.
He’s rarely been in any real danger in his whole career, and when he’s been in exchanges where he’s took a couple it’s because he likes a scrap.
Both Usyk and Bivol have said that he is the best fighter in this generation and that is worth something, when the next two best fighters have no doubts about you being the best.
He has a top 3 jab in this era, his footwork is superb, his guard is that tight that he sometimes just sits in and absorbs his opponents shots, his strength is undeniable and he has never been bullied in a fight, but when you see him sat on his stool in the round breaks he looks like he can’t wait to get back out there, he just belongs in the fight.
When you think of elite sportsmen and being in the zone, well Crawford has spent his whole career in the zone.
I love that he has retired right now because it just shows what he’s like as a person, leaving all that money on the table he could have earned some serious money for his next fight being at the top of the sport, but he didn’t.
I personally hope he doesn’t come back.
I have to say that this generation of champions in boxing is actually a great example what being a champion boxer means, Usyk, Bivol, Crawford and Inoue.
These champions have class, they carry themselves well in and out of the ring, they don’t disrespect anyone and they are humble in every aspect of their lives, they let their boxing do the talking.

 

Thank you!