By Adam Baskin: Terence Crawford is already looking beyond his undisputed welterweight championship bout on July 29 with IBF/WBA/WBC champion Errol Spence Jr towards a title fight with Jermell Charlo at 154.
Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) dislikes the certain arrogance of undisputed junior middleweight champion Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) since he first started challenging Spence, who is a stablemate in Texas and has coach Derrick James himself.
The rude talk Charlo lavished on Crawford reached the point where Ohama, Nebraska placed him as the No. 1 target after dealing with the often injured Spence (28-0, 22 KOs).
Unfortunately, 32-year-old Jermell has disappeared from active duty and fell off the grid like his twin brother Jermall. He hasn’t fought in over a year, dealing with a broken arm that takes forever to heal.
The sanctioning bodies would do the 154 and 160 contenders a good favor if they stripped the Charlo brothers of their titles to give some capable fighters chance to fight for those belts and earn life-changing money.
When Charlo returns to the ring, Tim Tszyu’s undefeated knockout awaits him, ready to claim his four belts and send him back for another long period of inactivity. Given how long Jermell has been out of the ring, Tszyu could kick him out, take his belts off, and possibly end his career if he disappears again.
“For some odd reason, when I picked up the scales and started calling out Errol Spence, it was his stablemate who jumped into it. I say, “Dude, mind your own business; stay out of the way. You can be like Spence, my boy. When I beat him, I’m going to see you.” Terence Crawford said MWorthOfGame about wanting to face undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo after he faces Errol Spence Jr on July 29.
“Don’t think Spence will knock you out. Here we smoke Buda” and so on. These girls. We don’t do this shit. I was cool with Charlo at one point. I’ve always been cool with these guys.
Crawford should forget about Charlo and focus on Spence because the two will fight twice this year in big money fights. If Crawford wins, he could move up to 154 and face the belt holder, be it Jermell or Tszyu.
It’s unlikely that Crawford will get a straight shot against Charlo if he still has four belts, as he previously mentioned that he would have to earn a chance against him by fighting other challengers.
