Terence Crawford needs one big massive payout before he hangs up his boxing gloves. The 37-year-old boxer had previously expressed that he wanted to exit from the sport while he was still in good health. The only fighter who can set him up nicely for retirement is ‘the face of boxing’ Canelo Alvarez. After Canelo’s win against Edgar Berlanga, he along with boxing’s most sought-after matchmaker Turki Alalshikh went on Instagram live to call out Canelo.

“Yo Turki, tell them we are going to go for Canelo next,” Terence Crawford said. “Let’s go! Canelo, come on. We are ready,” the Saudi Arabian royal replied. Seemingly, HE Turki Alalshikh hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a fight between Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez, even though the Mexican boxing icon has already snubbed his initial offer to fight the two-time undisputed champion. “You heard it from him. Just put me in the game b****,” Crawford further added. Canelo, on the other hand, is not in a rush to fight Crawford. Moreover, he has quoted an astronomic price of  $150 million to be lured into a fight with him, which Turki Alalshikh wouldn’t be willing to pay.

On that note, K.O. Artist Sports caught up with renowned boxing promoter Leonard Ellerbe to ask whether he would like to see Canelo Alvarez fight Terence Crawford. Although he acknowledged that ‘Cinnamon’ vs ‘Bud’ would be a “good” matchup, he had a “bigger” fight in mind that he wanted to see get materialized in reality. “The fight I would love to see is Canelo and Benavidez. That’s the great, the biggest fight.”

David Benavidez has been Canelo’s mandatory challenger for the WBC belt in the super-middleweight division for almost three years. However, the Guadalajara native has priced himself out of the fight, demanding $200 million to get into the ring with ‘The Mexican Monster’. Safe to say, Canelo, being the A-side in the professional boxing scene, wants to call the shots. And, he would only be willing to get into the ring with elite contenders if a promoter is willing to splash an obscene amount of cash.

Meanwhile, Canelo Alvarez’s former promoter Eddie Hearn revealed in an earlier media interview that Canelo would prefer to face David Benavidez over Terence Crawford.

It’s all about Size!

According to Eddie Hearn, the more competitive fight for Canelo Alvarez isn’t Terence Crawford—it’s David Benavidez. While Crawford is a two-time undisputed champion and a phenomenal fighter, he’s naturally smaller than Canelo. Jumping two weight classes from super-welterweight to super-middleweight to take on a natural 168-pounder like Canelo is a monumental task, one that may not give Canelo the credit he’s looking for, despite Crawford’s legendary status.

“When I met Saul, he wasn’t crazy about the [Crawford] fight,” Hearn revealed in an interview with Fight Hub TV. “I think he would pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he’d get the respect for that win, whereas fighting someone three or four divisions lower might not carry the same weight.”

But as the boxing world waits with bated breath, Benavidez isn’t sitting idle. After making a successful jump to light-heavyweight with a win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk to claim the WBC interim title, Benavidez seems to be in no rush to step into the ring with Canelo. He’s keeping his options open, perhaps waiting for the right offer or terms that make sense for both fighters and their camps.

The question now is: Who should Canelo face next? Will it be the pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford, or will it be the larger, more dangerous David Benavidez? Let us know who you think should be next for the unified super-middleweight champ in the comments below!