Terence Crawford already made his feelings clear about fighting one specific opponent.
While UFC champion Ilia Topuria is targeting Crawford following this past weekend’s results, there’s a huge name in boxing that has been linked with ‘Bud’.
It isn’t clear where the new undisputed super middleweight champion will go from here after moving up two weight classes to face Canelo Alvarez.
One thing that is for certain is that it didn’t take long for Turki Alalshikh to suggest who he wants to see Crawford face next following a post on social media.
Terence Crawford didn’t rule out fighting David Benavidez but said he wasn’t interested because of the size difference
When he was asked about a potential rematch with Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford stated that his new direction hasn’t been decided yet following September 13.
This would obviously be the biggest fight out there for ‘Bud’, but there is another star that some, including Turki Alalshikh, want to see him in the ring with.
Alvarez has been accused of avoiding the 30-0 David Benavidez in the past.
The 28-year-old last competed at super middleweight in November of 2023, before moving up to light heavyweight for the next two bouts of his career.
Crawford, who beat the older brother of ‘The Mexican Monster’ (Jose Benavidez Jr.) in 2018, was asked about the prospect of facing him down the line during an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast earlier this year.
“My thing is, Benavidez is a big dude,” Crawford replied. “Not to say I won’t fight him, I fought his brother. His brother was big when I fought him. The only reason why I entertain Canelo is because he’s not a big dude. He might be thick but he’s not a big dude.
“Benavidez is like six foot something, then he’s gonna come in 190, 200 maybe, you know what I mean? You never know, that’s a big dude… I might as well go to heavyweight if I fight Benavidez.”
- LATEST NEWS: Terence Crawford backed to ‘KO or choke to death’ Ilia Topuria in MMA by 24-0 boxing superstar
How David Benavidez compares to Terence Crawford and some of his former opponents
As the youngest super middleweight world champion in boxing history at just 20 years old, David Benavidez has been one of the most exciting rising stars for some time.
While his undefeated record is very impressive, he hasn’t had the opportunity to face a star like Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford, or even Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev as of yet.
For a comparison, here is how Crawford and Benavidez compare to one another, along with Alvarez and Jose Benavidez Jr., who was stopped by ‘Bud’ in the twelfth round.
| Stats according to BoxRec | Terence Crawford | David Benavidez | Canelo Alvarez | Jose Benavidez Jr. |
| Age | 37 | 28 | 35 | 33 |
| Height | 5’9” / 175cm | 6’2” / 188cm | 5’7½” / 171cm | 5’10½ / 179cm |
| Reach | 75” | 74½” | 70½” | 71” |
As Crawford himself said, the stats show that while there wasn’t much physical difference between him and Alvarez, Benavidez would be a whole different story.