Terence Crawford has already thought about how he’d beat ‘Superman’ in a fight.
41 fights, 41 victories, 31 of which have come by way of KO/TKO – it’s safe to say that Terence Crawford is the baddest man in any and every room he walks into.
But what happens when he’s faced with a giant who stands several feet above him? Simple, ‘Bud’ goes for the money shot.
Terence Crawford on how he’d fight NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal
Earlier this week, Terence Crawford joined ‘The Big Podcast’ with Shaquille O’Neal and Adam Lefkoe to look back at the recent controversy involving Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.
At one stage of the interview, Crawford was asked whether he still sizes up those around him, or if he’s moved on from evaluating how he’d hypothetically defeat people he meets.
“I think I size everybody up, unintentionally,” laughed the WBA champion, before admitting that he’d even sized up the 7ft-tall NBA legend when they first met.
“Believe it or not, I sized Shaq up the first time I seen him – he probably doesn’t remember… We was at the All-Star game, I was on the floor and I asked you for a picture, and everybody was rushing you and you was like ‘Man, come on’ and I took the picture but I was looking at you, I was like ‘This dude is tall as hell’.
“You know, I kinda got mad because you wasn’t even smiling in my picture but you was kind of giving a smirk in everybody else’s picture… I was like ‘Man’ – but he was ready to get out of there, you know.”
‘Bud’ stands 5 ft 8” tall – yet even with his enormous height and reach advantage, it’s safe to say that O’Neal doesn’t fancy his chances against the 41-0 superstar.
“First of all, champ, that wasn’t a smirk, that was my Level 2 smile and yes, I was ready to get out of that… S— if I was getting ready to fight Bud, I’d just talk my way out of it, you know you got to be smart.”
When asked what the gameplan would be against someone of O’Neal’s stature, Crawford joked that there’d be only one target worth going for: “Nah, I’d just hit him in the nuts.
“I probably couldn’t touch his chin way up there, you know what I mean, so I gotta bring him down to my level.”
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Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez predicted by boxing icons
Terence Crawford’s next fight has not yet been officially announced; however, there are plenty of rumors that ‘Bud’ is currently in negotiations to fight Canelo Alvarez in September.
In that potential showdown, former six-weight champion Oscar De La Hoya favors Alvarez’s power and durability.
“Crawford is the craftier boxer, but Canelo has the size, he has the power… It’ll be a tough fight but stylistically, it’ll be a one-sided fight for maybe let’s say seven rounds and then Canelo starts attacking, attacking, he starts to take it to deep waters and the power will eventually be too much. Will it be a great fight? Will it be a huge event? Absolutely.”
Contrary to popular opinion, heavyweight legend Mike Tyson doesn’t want to see Crawford and Canelo throwdown, arguing that “I don’t like that fight [because] too much weight [difference].
The iconic Roy Jones Jr couldn’t disagree more with Tyson’s take.
“The weight won’t be a factor…The factor will be how Canelo chooses to make the fight. If Canelo comes out there and does what he should do, Canelo wins the fight. If Canelo comes out and does what he shouldn’t do, Crawford wins the fight.”
Former four-weight world champion Mikey Garcia also acknowledged that Canelo’s size difference could be a key factor; despite ‘Bud’ being the slicker boxer out of the two.
“Canelo ain’t gonna come down to 160. Maybe 166, maximum, if he accepts. I think Canelo wins that fight based on just the size – the power and size. Now, skills-wise, I think Crawford is a better-skilled fighter. But the difference in size will be the deciding factor, and that’s why I’m not even a fan of that fight.”