Heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk has revealed who he would back in a fantasy match-up between fellow greats Floyd Mayweather and Terence Crawford.
Mayweather and Crawford are regarded as two of the best fighters of their respective generations, and despite ruling throughout a number of weight classes, it is the 147lb division where each of them arguably performed best.
It was in that division where Mayweather became a unified world champion after victories over the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Shane Mosley and Juan Manual Marquez, as he established himself as the biggest name in the sport throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
After retiring in 2017, Crawford then took over and made welterweight his own home, winning all eight of his fights at 147lbs by stoppage, including his famous 2023 win against Errol Spence in Las Vegas to become undisputed champion.
That victory saw Crawford go to the top of many fans’ pound-for-pound lists, with the next couple of years seeing him battle it out for that number one spot alongside two-weight undisputed champion Usyk.
It seems clear that Usyk has a lot of respect for his previous pound-for-pound rival, as during a game of Winner Stays On with Daily Mail Boxing, the Ukrainian was asked to pick a winner between Mayweather and Crawford, and he didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“Crawford.”
Crawford hung up the gloves last year following his impressive win over Canelo Alvarez to become undisputed super-middleweight champion, and he has previously discussed how he believes his legacy compares to that of Mayweather’s.
