Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford has taken to social media to campaign for the 2023 ‘Fighter of the Year’ honour.
The Omaha, Nebraska, native hasn’t been as busy as some of the fighters he’s competing with for the prize, and he wasn’t able to take on the young lion who had been sniping at him, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Crawford’s argument:
In what some fans consider a blatant attempt to be voted this year’s best fighter, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) argues that he should be given the award for his only victory against Errol Spence Jr., who points out that He was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters.
Crawford, 36, who captured the undisputed welterweight championship with his ninth-round knockout of Spence, inactive and looking exhausted from a car accident, did not run any vulgar ads or hire a press agent to do so. . campaign for him, as movie stars sometimes do when competing for an Academy Award. Obviously that would be pathetic, but who knows? It is still early.
“I’m the only fighter to beat one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters this year, and the way I beat him was unmatched. The fighter of the year 2023 is me. Some might say, but I only fought once, but that fight was bigger than any of the others. #facts,” Crawford said on social media.
Quantity versus quality:
Beating a good, worn-out fighter, Spence, might not be good enough for Crawford to overcome fighters who have been busier than him, such as Devin Haney, who defeated WBC light welterweight champion Regis Prograis and former champion Vasily Lomachenko three-division world championship in 2023.
Those guys weren’t exhausted, inactive or wrecked by a serious car accident like Crawford’s opponent, Spence, who hadn’t fought in 15 months and looked half dazed when he came into the ring because of the weight he was carrying. He had taken off to hit the 147-pound limit.
Spence was rumored to be over 200 pounds when training camp for the fight with Crawford began. Getting a win over a popular fighter is impressive, but you have to look at where that fighter was at this point in his career. This wasn’t the Spence of 2017, when he was still hungry, he was healthy and he was in his prime.
Spence is now a shell of the fighter he was back then, as his car accidents, weight gain, inactivity and enormous wealth have taken the best out of him, leaving him the punching bag that Crawford defeated.
Gervonta Davis’ knockout victories over Ryan Garcia and Hector Luis Garcia in 2023 should also be considered more impressive than Crawford’s singles fight against Spence.
I’m the only fighter to beat one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters this year and the way I beat him was unmatched. The fighter of the year 2023 is me. Some might say, but I only fought once, but that fight was bigger than any of the others. #facts
– Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) December 27, 2023
