“I Wanted the People to Still Know…”: Despite Wanting to Retire at 33, Terence Crawford Details the Reason He Kept Going

Boxers like other athletes dedicate years to honing their skills. Moreover enduring the physical toll of the sport can cause a lot of problems to any fighter. One of the most famous cases for this is what happened to ‘the Greatest’ Muhammad Ali who suffered from Parkinson’s towards the later years of his life because of the immense punishment he took. Knowledge of the risks involved has caused a lot of boxers to put their health as a priority.

Floyd Mayweather is a prime example who managed to leave a remarkable legacy and still retired healthy. Terence Crawford is also of one such opinion when it comes to his approach to the sport. In a recent episode of Joe Rogan Experience, he explained why even with this mentality he still continued with the sport after sharing his desire of retiring early.

Terence Crawford reveals surprising detail about his mindset

During his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Crawford claimed, “I always said I wanted to retire from boxing, I never wanted boxing to retire me. My goal was always to retire at 33.” To this, the UFC commentator shared his surprise and reconfirmed the age the champion had decided to stop. After getting the confirmation that he had heard right, Rogan asked the 2 division’s undisputed champion if his decision was based on not getting into big fights at the time. He asked, “Is it because the fights didn’t come? Like the Errol Spence fight?”

However, Crawford stated that he had made this decision “even before that.” This prompted Rogan to ask him the reason why he persisted with the sport. ‘Bud’ stated that it was his body that told him, “‘Man you ain’t done.” He further added, “Even though I wanted to retire, it was just like- ‘you’re not done’. Like- ‘You’ve got a lot to prove. You got a lot to accomplish, you’re still in your prime.’” He stated that this is what kept him going, “‘cause I wanted that mega fight.”  Crawford wanted to reach a level where no one can deny his ability.

Despite his desire to have blockbuster boxing bouts the Southpaw boxer admitted that he doesn’t have anything to prove to anybody.

Crawford has nothing left to prove

Furthermore, he added, “I wanted the people to still know who Terence Crawford was and I feel like there was s people that knew who I was and that follow me, but it wasn’t solidified worldwide yet.” However, with his recent victory against Errol Spence Jr., he has managed to prove himself as one of the best in the sport. So Rogan asked him if he still wants the next challenge. But Crawford disagreed and stated that he “really don’t have nothing to prove.” 

He further claimed that he can just “walk away” at this point in his career. Moreover, he also revealed that he asks himself every day if he still wants to box or not. He claimed that he has “invested great with my money.” He stated that he doesn’t fight for the monetary value anymore, he does so for his legacy.

Crawford also brought up his potential bout against Jermell Charlo in the conversation. He made it clear that if Charlo loses his bout against Canelo Alvarez, then there will be no point in a bout between them. Notably, he has also shown his interest in a fight against Alvarez as well.

Read More: “It Really Is Close”: World Class Trainer Gives His Take on Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford

Though Alvarez has signed a three-fight deal with PBC and so the chance of them going toe-to-toe is really small as of now. What do you think about Crawford’s statement about what kept him going? Who do you think should face Crawford next, Canelo or Charlo? Do share your thoughts in the comments.

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