Via Chris Williams: Terence Crawford would go in the opposite direction of trying to get the fights he wants if he chooses to sign with Golden Boy Promotions and defend his WBO welterweight title against the next little-known Alexis Rocha. .
Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) wants to fight IBF, WBA & WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr, and undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo, but he won’t be participating. either of those matches if he chooses to sign with Golden Boy and defend his belt against Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs).
Giving the WBO belt and signing with PBC is the move Crawford should make as it will open the door for him to get the fights he wants. He wouldn’t fight if he signed with Golden Boy because they’re on opposite sides of the track and their fighters compete on DAZN rather than Showtime.
Fans don’t know who Rocha is, and it’s just another example of Crawford taking on another easy gimme fight, which won’t pay off well. Assuming Crawford signs Golden Boy, that means he’ll fight on DAZN, and they’ll stick his fight with Rocha on PPV, which has no effect on attracting flies.
No one is going to buy that war, especially now that DAZN has increased oversubscription rates for US subscribers.
If 35-year-old Crawford wants to be in the game against Spence & Charlo before he gets older, it makes sense for him to sign for PBC because that’s where those guys are. He may have to give up his WBO title, as the World Boxing Organization ordered Rocha to fight, but that’s no big deal as titles have become meaningless in this era.
The only time a title makes sense is if you’re not famous, and even then it works against a boxer to keep the title because then they have a hard time fighting the challengers. obscurity doesn’t help their careers. An example of that is Crawford being ordered to defend against Rocha.
In an example of someone not knowing who Alexis Rocha is, former WBA weight champion Yordenis Ugas questioned who the boxer was after hearing the WBO ordered Crawford against him.
This has no disrespect and forgives the question. Who is Rome?? What record do you have?
– Yordenis Ugas (@YordenisUgas) February 27, 2023
If Ugas doesn’t know who Alexis Rocha is, you can bet the average boxing fan has never heard of him either. This means that if Crawford signs for Golden Boy and they continue his fight with Rocha on PPV on DAZN, it will be poor numbers, ruining any chance he’s ever had to fight. with Spence or Charlo.
