Crawford Turns 38 After Canelo Win As Fans Demand Benavidez

Terence Crawford celebrates his 38th birthday today, a little over two weeks since his career-best victory over Canelo Alvarez on September 13, 2025.

At 38, Crawford doesn’t have much time left, and he can’t afford to sit out of the ring for a year on a victory parade, as he’s repeatedly done since 2020. Sitting out for 1+ year would be a mistake if he wants to capitalize on his 12-round unanimous decision victory over undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs).

Why Crawford Avoids Mexican Monster Benavidez

Fans are interested in learning about Crawford’s next move in terms of choosing an opponent that has a chance of beating him, like David Benavidez, for example.

Terence still hasn’t said which direction he’ll go, but it’s unlikely that he’ll take on ‘The Mexican Monster’ and risk having his unbeaten record ruined. Fighting Benavidez would arguably be a disaster for Crawford, with him being broken down into the base elements piece by piece.

Below is a list of fighters fans on social media most want Crawford to fight next:

1. Dmitry Bivol
2. Janibek Alimkhanuly
3. David Benavidez
4. Erislandy Lara
5. Carlos Adames
6. Jaron “Boots” Ennis

Analyst Perspective: Narrative of Easy Canelo Win Challenged

Despite Crawford’s team, led by trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, framing the victory over Canelo as a rout, it was a narrow victory, won by the scores 115-113, 115-113, and 116-112. The purpose of framing the win by Crawford as an ‘easy’ one works in terms of him pressing for a bigger purse in his future battles. Think of it as propaganda. It’s media manipulation.

So, creating a false narrative that Crawford’s win was one-sided places him in a position where he’s the A-side against whoever he fights due to his victory over the ‘Face of Boxing’ Canelo. It’s a way to build Crawford into a star by reinventing a fight, transforming it into fiction to make him look heroic and unbeatable. It’s like making Crawford look like a Superman figure.

In reality, Terence looked old, very beatable, barely winning, and appeared timid much of the time. Instead of showing the ugly reality of what really took place for his win over the Mexican star, Crawford’s performance is framed as a complete wipeout. Fans who either didn’t watch the fight or have shaky memories of the event buy into the rout framing and are then more willing to want to see Crawford fight.

Against Canelo, Crawford reportedly received a big purse of $50 million. That figure was far below Alvarez’s $150 million. However, with Crawford’s team and certain media members framing his victory over Canelo as a one-sided rout, it could help him get a bigger purse for his next fight, provided he faces a stiff test and not someone who has virtually no chance of beating him.

Crawford’s Victory Parade Masks Future Risks

“It’s been a journey I remember like it was yesterday. ‘I want to quit boxing.’ You know it was getting to the point where I didn’t enjoy it no more,” said Terence Crawford at his victory parade last Saturday for his win over Canelo Alvarez.

“I didn’t love it anymore, and ‘Bomac,’ he said, ‘Hey, don’t worry about it, man. Just keep going. It’s going to all pay off one day.’ And I’m like ‘Man f*** boxing,’ but them having a faith in me and keeping me on a narrow arrow, you know, is what y’all see today.’”

Written by Nation Vegas, Boxing Analyst covering world title fights since 2013.