Kofi Jantuah says Terence Crawford shouldn’t fight David Benavidez because it’s “a hard fight” for him. The retired former junior middleweight, Jantuah, believes that it’s “not a fair fight” because Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) would be coming down from light heavyweight to super middleweight to face him.
Kofi argues that Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) is a “small guy” who moved up to 168 for his last fight against undisputed super middleweight Canelo Alvarez on September 13. He states that he wouldn’t fight Benavidez if he were in Crawford’s position, holding the four belts at 168.
A Tough Fight for Crawford
What Jantuah doesn’t say is who Crawford should fight to command a payday similar to the $50 million he received for the Canelo fight. The Omaha, Nebraska native isn’t going to make that kind of money fighting Hamzah Sheeraz or any of the middleweight champions.
What About the Other Contenders?
It’s improbable that Crawford would want to tangle with the top super middleweight contenders, Osleys Iglesias, Christian Mbilli, or Diego Pacheco, and suffer his first career loss against one of them. That’s arguably much harder work for Crawford than his clash against the smallish, flat-footed, faded 35-year-old Canelo. Those guys are in their prime and big.
“If I’m Crawford, I’m not going to fight Benavidez. That’s a hard fight,” said retired former junior middleweight Kofi Jantuah to Pro Boxing Fans about his thoughts on a Terence Crawford vs. David Benavidez fight.
A Call to Vacate the Belts
If Crawford can’t handle the contenders that are vying for the super middleweight undisputed championship he now holds, he should vacate. He can’t just sit on the titles and use them as a decoration while picking exclusively beatable opponents to inflate his resume.
“David Benavidez is a light heavyweight guy. Crawford is a little guy that went to 168. For him to fight Benavidez, it’s like a stretch. Benavidez should be fighting Beterbiev and Bivol. He shouldn’t come down and fight Crawford. That’s not a fair fight,” said Kofi.
The Shoe on the Other Foot
Was it fair for the car-crash-wrecked Errol Spence to fight Crawford? How about the over-the-hill Shawn Porter? It’s not as if Crawford hasn’t had the advantage in many unfair fights during his career against guys who were underdogs and had no chance of fighting him.
Now that the shoe is on the other foot, people are defending Crawford, saying he shouldn’t fight these guys because it’s unfair. What that means is that Crawford’s career isn’t what it seems. When you’re never the underdog due to matchmaking, you’re not as good as you’ve been made out to be.
