Floyd Mayweather has revealed his No 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world in an interview with ESPN.
Across-weight rankings received a massive shake-up earlier this month when Vasyl Lomachenko, many people's choice as the planet's best fighter, lost an upset points decision to American Teofimo Lopez. However it's another US boxing star that tops Mayweather's list.
After carefully circling around an answer, just as he once boxed circles around his opponents, 'Money' finally admits: "As of right now, I would have to put Terence Crawford as number one."
The 50-0 former pound-for-pound king also reserves special praise for Gervonta 'Tank' Davis - the unbeaten knockout artist he just so happens to manage - and one of his own former opponents in Canelo Alvarez.
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"Canelo done something amazing when he became light-heavyweight champ," says the 43-year-old, reflecting on Alvarez's stoppage win over Sergey Kovalev in 2019.
"I didn't even see him going up that heavy, and he did that," praised the man who has inflicted the only official pro defeat in Canelo's 56-fight career.
Alvarez tops many pound-for-pound lists due to his high profile and career accomplishments, but Mayweather's pick of Terence 'Bud' Crawford is indeed the boxer who might have the best all-round skill set.
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Undefeated in 36 fights, the 33-year-old has won world-title belts in three weight classes. Able to switch from orthodox to southpaw with ease, Crawford has had success against Brits, outpointing Ricky Burns to claim his first world championship, then stopping Amir Khan in strange circumstances in 2019.
Next up, the welterweight faces Kell Brook on 14 November. With all respect to Brook, an elite welterweight when in his prime, there's a growing feeling in the US that Crawford is wasting his peak years fighting faded or mismatched opponents.
There's also a burning desire to see him face fellow unbeaten American welterweight Errol Spence Jr, who takes on Danny Garcia on 5 December.
But clearly Crawford's versatile talent and spotless record are enough for Mayweather to place him at top spot in the sport - and Floyd tends to set a high bar.
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Do you agree that Terence Crawford is boxing's pound-for-pound No 1? Or does someone else deserve that spot? Let us know in the comments.
All imagery: PA Images/ESPN
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Pound for pound, Boxing News, Boxing, Fight News, Floyd Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather Jr
