The Financial Reality Of Crawford’s Next Fight: Benavidez Or The Middleweight Division

Terence Crawford says he might move down to 160 following his victory over undisputed 168-lb champion Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night, September 13, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) states that he will discuss his next move with his team.

Turki Alalshikh hinted at a fight between David Benavidez and Crawford early this morning, saying, “Can David Benavidez still make 168 pounds? 🤔” Fans took it as a hint that he wants to put together a fight between him and newly crowned undisputed super middleweight champion Crawford.

Rather than Crawford going down to 160, he could make a fortune if he stays at 168 to defend against Benavidez, potentially.

The Middleweight Financial Problem

“I’m going to sit down with my team and discuss what’s next for Terence Crawford and who knows? I might go down to 160,” said Terence Crawford on Ring Magazine on X after his upset win over Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night in Las Vegas.

The problem with Crawford going down to middleweight is that there are no stars in the division, and the three world champions lack the popularity to sell a fight or be big enough for Netflix.

Middleweight champions

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

Those are not fighters that would sell on DAZN PPV. If Crawford wants to continue to make the mega-millions, moving down to 160 won’t work for him because Turki Alalalshikn isn’t going to pay him $50 million to fight those guys and hemorrhage money when it bombs on PPV or does poor numbers on Netflix.

If Crawford is not under contract with Turki, he will need to hope that he’ll take an interest in him fighting one of those champions, and it’s doubtful that he would, because they will not interest U.S. or UK fans.

Potential Crawford Opponents

The fights that Fans Would Want for Crawford:

David Benavidez
Dmitry Bivol
Jaron Ennis
Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Sebastian Fundora
Artur Beterbiev