All-Time Greats Took Risks, So Must Crawford

Trainer Ronnie Shields advises that Terence Crawford forget about holding onto his four super middleweight belts and defending them against the young contenders in the division. Shield states that the contenders at 168 have too much youth and “power” for the 38-ish Crawford.

Avoiding the Young Lions

Ronnie says he’d like to see Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) move down to 160, like he was talking about recently, and capture a world title in that weight class. It would be Terence’s sixth division world championship if he pulled it off.

Moving down in weight would send a message to fans that Crawford lacks the courage to stay at 168 after beating the faded Canelo Alvarez on September 13, 2025, and prefers to make a hasty retreat to avoid suffering his first career defeat.

By moving down in weight to 160, Crawford could keep his unbeaten record intact by avoiding an unpleasant situation.

If Bud stays at 168 and loses repeatedly to the young, talented contenders, it would affirm in the minds of fans that he would have been weeded out if he’d been forced to work his way up the ranks to earn a world title shot against Canelo rather than having Turki Alalshikh give it to him on a silver platter. Crawford was just given the title shot at 168 without fighting anyone to earn the title shot.

All-Time Greats Don’t Run

If Crawford is serious about wanting to be included among the all-time greats, he should show courage by staying at 168 and defending his four titles against one of these three next:

David Benavidez
Christian Mbilli
Osleys Iglesias

All-time greats from the past, fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Henry Armstrong, Muhammad Ali, and Joe Louis, wouldn’t leave a division to avoid dangerous opposition. They wouldn’t move down in weight to win an easy belt for superficial record-padding purposes. Those fighters weren’t weak-minded like that.

You can’t call Crawford an all-time great based on his one win over Canelo or his other 41 victories on his resume because he didn’t take any risks where he was a big underdog. When he had the chance to do that by fighting David Benavidez, he refused to fight him. That’s not all-time great behavior.

Fighting apex talents like Benavidez, Mbilli, Iglesias, Dmitry Bivol, and Artur Beterbiev are prerequisites to being one of the all-time greats. Crawford won’t do it, so he doesn’t deserve to be in a place of honor among Ali, Sugar Ray, and Armstrong, in my opinion.

Youth and Power Too Much for Bud

“If I’m Terence Crawford, I’d give up the belts and go down to 160. It’s going to be great at 160. Create another milestone in your career,” said trainer Ronnie Shields to Fight Hub TV about what Terence Crawford should do next.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s going to be “great” for Crawford at 160. If his intention is to win a world title, he’s going to have a lot of trouble trying to capture a belt because these guys have fought runners before. The way that Crawford edged Canelo Alvarez by hitting and stalling out the rounds by running, it’s not a guarantee of success at middleweight.

Champions at 160

Janibek Alimkhanuly: IBF and WBO
Erislandy Lara: WBA
Carlos Adames: WBC

“At 168, leave all the other guys alone. They’re too young, too fast, and too strong. Not to say he can’t hang with those guys,” said Shields on Crawford needing to avoid the dangerous younger fighters at super middleweight.

Shields raises a good point. Crawford would have a lot of trouble with the youth, size, power, and speed of the top fighters at 168. He barely beat a small, faded, flat-footed, debilitated Canelo on September 13th.

Crawford would be facing young, live bodies with size and power if he chose to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against the contenders in the division.

Even if he hand-picks one of the flawed ones, like Hamzah Sheeraz or 35-year-old Jermall Charlo, that would still be difficult for him. Those are bigger guys with pop in their punches that would give Crawford problems with their power.