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Jeff Mayweather Believes Terence Crawford Is The Fight That Shows “Boxing World What Tim Tszyu Has To Offer”

Published 03/26/2024, 10:05 AM EDT

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Finally, the light middleweight division might have more than one reason to jubilate. Out of the catchweight conundrum with Keith Thurman, Tim Tszyu will now fight Sebastian Fundora on March 31. The evolving scenario finds him defending his own WBO championship. Additionally, he will stake a claim on the vacant WBC title as well. However, a new development appears to be making headway. Per the incoming reports, the former undisputed champion Terence Crawford seems to have invoked his right as a mandatory challenger to the WBO light middleweight title.

The unified welterweight champion, aside from the WBC and the WBA, holds the WBO belt as well. Which means if the incumbent Tim Tszyu succeeds in deflating young Fundora’s aspirations, then fans could find themselves locked in for the double delight of watching another boxing supernova: Tim Tszyu versus Terence Crawford. Already, talks about the fight seem to have caught the imagination. Legendary trainer and former world champion Jeff Mayweather made it clear which side his money is betting on.

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New South Wales-based boxing and MMA reporter Jai McAllister had a chance to speak with Mayweather Jr.’s uncle in Las Vegas. After checking with the ace trainer on the Fundora fight, McAllister took up the Terence Crawford development. He asked, “Well, there was talk that Terence Crawford had activated his um mandatory status if he was to go up to 154. Do you think that’s a step too high for Tim? How do you see a fight Tim Tszyu-Terence Crawford going?

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Unhesitatingly, ‘Jazzy’ made it clear that he would go with ‘Bud’ Crawford. “I would lean toward Crawford. I would lean toward Crawford,” he said. But he also made it clear it isn’t going to be a smooth sailing one for the Nebraskan. The simple reason being, Tim Tszyu is a competent boxer. He added, “But I mean, I don’t think there’s going to be no walking park for him. You know, I mean, Tim’s a good fighter; he’s a good fighter.

He clarified that he had a chance to meet Kosta Tszyu’s son and found him to be a very likeable person.

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However, that doesn’t mitigate the fact that he would be going against the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world. “I mean, I met him; what about, uh, probably about maybe two years or a year and a half ago or something like that? Uh, extremely nice guy, and, um, you know, he’s the type of guy that you know if if you know him, you would cheer for him, you know, but against Crawford, that’s different; that’s a whole another beast,” said Jeff Mayweather.

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Nevertheless, notwithstanding the challenges, he finds the fight intriguing. The match holds more significance from the Aussie boxer’s point of view. It is the kind of face-off where he can prove his worth to the world. He said, “I would love to see that fight too. Yeah, that’ be that’ be great for him, and I think that that will be a fight that shows the boxing world what Tim Tszyu has has to offer.

Thus, if the Lady Luck continues to shower her blessings on the 154-pound weight class, then it might soon have another mouthwatering epic lined up. The tentative Terence Crawford-Tim Tszyu line-up might still have a few hurdles to deal with. However, if it does come through unscathed, then it will be nothing short of last July’s Spence Jr. clash.

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Between Crawford and Tszyu, who would be your pick for the win if the fight does make it through?

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Written by:

Jaideep R Unnithan

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One take at a time

Jaideep Unnithan is a senior boxing author at EssentiallySports. Inching towards the milestone of over 2000 articles, he has been a chronicler of day-to-day developments happening inside and outside of the squared circle. Having a keen eye on the punches traded inside the ring, he has written opinion pieces on the fighting styles of Floyd Mayweather Jr, David Benavidez, and Terence Crawford.
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Edited by:

Snigdhaa Jaiswal