Terence Crawford makes sudden U-turn, backtracks on Canelo Alvarez fight amid previous hype

Terence Crawford is set to make his super welterweight debut in an exciting WBA title fight against champion Israil Madrimov. The pair will clash on Aug. 3 and the former undisputed welterweight champion has his blinders on ahead of fight night.

Following his welterweight title victory over Errol Spence Jr. in 2023, 'Bud' called for a clash with undisputed super middleweight king, Canelo Alvarez. Crawford discussed the bout on several occasions, but ahead of his WBA title fight with Madrimov, the Nebraska native has shut down fight talks with Alvarez.

The 40-0 fighter has expressed his desire to win undisputed titles at 154 pounds, with Madrimov the first obstacle in his path to doing so. 'Bud' recently appeared in front of the media, where he was asked about a potential clash with Alvarez.

He said:

"My mind is crystal clear on one thing. That's August 3rd and that's Israil Madrimov. I'm not thinking about, worrying about Canelo or anyone else, for that matter. August 3rd is the only fight that's in the back of my mind, in the front of my mind, in the side of my mind."

Watch Terence Crawford's interview below (1:35):

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Eddie Hearn backs Israil Madrimov to cause a massive upset against Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford and Israil Madrimov will go to war in the squared circle on August 3 for the WBA super welterweight title.

Many expect Crawford's debut at 154 pounds to go smoothly, and the man responsible for the upcoming clash, Turki Alalshikh, has already shared his interest in scheduling 'Bud' versus Jaron Ennis or Canelo Alvarez next.

But leading boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, has shared his confidence his Madrimov to upset the apple cart and defeated the former welterweight king. Crawford has been viewed as arguably the No.1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, and a loss to the WBA champion would be a surprise.

Hearn was recently interviewed, where he said:

"I've got to say, and I really mean this, I've got bad, bad feelings for Terence Crawford against Israil Madrimov. Because all I hear is Crawford-Canelo, Crawford-Boots, Crawford-this. He is fighting the biggest puncher he's ever faced on August 3rd... I'm telling you now, if Crawford gets hit on the chin by Israil Madrimov, he is gonna really, really know about it.... I've got a really sneaky feeling for my guy on August 3rd, I really have. I think it's a really tough fight."

Watch Eddie Hearn's interview below (7:55):