Why did it take so long for Terence Crawford to finally be a bigger boxing star?

Crawford is about to be 38 years old at an age that's usually seen as being past prime and its only now that he's become a more known global star since beating Canelo thanks to his exposure on Netflix. It seems like it was only when Crawford stopped Errol Spence Jr that more people finally recognized him as the best fighter in the world and became more mainstream. By that time he was 36. You would think 5 or even 10 years back he would have already had made a name for himself with the same amount of star power and respect by fans and casuals similar to that of Canelo. Especially since he's not a boring defensive fighter, has a humble personality, doesn't talk that much trash and also knocks a lot of fighters out. Why did it take so long for him to finally be recognized as the new Mayweather/Pacquiao of his era?

It sort of reminds me of the time when ODLH was a huge PPV attraction while prime Roy Jones Jr was still seen as the best fighter and yet he never came close to having the same amount of star power as him.

 

What's also interesting is that initially people downplayed the idea of Canelo and Crawford fighting because of the weight class disparity but now that it's finally happened Crawford is now bigger more than ever thanks to the Canelo fight. I guess its the case of the need to beat the star to be a star.

 

Also happened with Usyk when he beat AJ. Seems that's the only way for a fighter to breakout is to beat someone that's already a big popular fighter. Being dominant for most of your career isn't enough. You really have to either have the looks or personality to be popular otherwise you NEED to beat someone with the star power and popularity like Canelo.

 

I guess that's why his nickname is Bud.