Terence Crawford has been urged to swerve his potential rematch with Canelo Alvarez and instead chase another legacy-defining showdown.
The three-division undisputed champion moved up two weight classes to face Canelo in September, dethroning the then-super-middleweight king with a convincing points victory.
Prior to that, Crawford was considered undersized in his super-welterweight clash against Israil Madrimov, but nonetheless came away with the WBA world title in August last year.
Again, it was a similar pre-fight story when the former world lightweight champion was paired with Errol Spence Jr at 147lbs, yet his dominant ninth-round stoppage victory in 2023 ultimately suggested otherwise.
Since his win over Alvarez, reports have suggested that Crawford, who was recently stripped of his WBC title, could be set to rematch the Mexican in 2026.
But while talks for their second encounter at 168lbs are seemingly ongoing, ‘Bud’ has been invited to explore an alternative opportunity against another world champion.
The manager of Dmitry Bivol, Vadim Kornilov, has teased a possible clash between the two pound-for-pound greats.
Bivol claimed his undisputed crown at 175lbs with a points victory over Artur Beterbiev, who he previously lost to via the same margin, in February.
Since then, the light-heavyweight king has not only vacated his WBC belt, which now belongs to David Benavidez, but has also remained out of the ring due to a back injury.
Having now undergone surgery, though, it would seem that the 34-year-old, who outpointed Canelo in 2022, could be sniffing around for another blockbuster fight.
In a recent post on X, Kornilov insisted that Bivol against Crawford, who is now 38 years old, should be the most appealing option for both parties.
“People are not that excited about Bivol vs Canelo 2 because the probability of Bivol winning the fight in the same manner [is] very high.
“The same can be said about Crawford vs Canelo 2 in my opinion. Crawford vs Bivol, that is something new and unpredictable. The [best] fight the [best]!”
