Terence Crawford pays tribute to Carl Weathers as NFL linebacker-turned-actor passes away at 76

Welterweight champion Terence Crawford is the latest athlete to react to the stunning death of Carl Weathers on Feb. 2.

Weathers, 76, had success as an athlete but rose to prominence amongst sports fans as the actor portraying 'Apollo Creed' in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky franchise. According to multiple sources — including Weathers' manager, Matt Luber — the actor died 'peacefully' in his sleep on Thursday, Feb. 1. No cause of death has been publicly released.

Of the many combat sports stars and celebrities worldwide paying tribute to Weathers and Creed, his synonymous character, Crawford posted a message to the late icon on his Instagram story.

Terence Crawford honoring Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) in his Instagram story [via @tbudcrawford on Instagram]

Countless other fighters and members of the boxing community have expressed similar heartbreak in response to the news. Weathers was undeniably instrumental to the influence Rocky had on the sport as a whole.

In addition to his role as Apollo Creed, Weathers notably played Colonel Al Dillon in Predator and Combat Carl in Toy Story 4. Most recently, Weathers played the role of Greef Karga in the popular Dixney+ series The Mandalorian.

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Who is Terence Crawford fighting next?

As the consensus top pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Terence Crawford will defend his status as unified welterweight champion in his next bout.

Despite being connected to multiple potential opponents in ongoing rumors, Crawford does not have a fight booked as of Feb. 2. 'Bud' last competed on July 29, 2023, when he became the undisputed welterweight champion by knocking out Errol Spence Jr. in a near-flawless performance.

While many have clamored for Crawford to move up in weight and challenge Jermell Charlo or Canelo Alvarez, the champion has yet to indicate a specific direction in his career.

Discussions for a rematch with Spence have also been brought up, though talks have been far from finding an agreement as 'The Truth' revealed a recent eye surgery on social media.

Now 36 years old, Crawford claims to be pursuing a super fight with Alvarez through social media posts.