Terence Crawford’s achievements across four weight divisions in the modern era will ensure he goes down as one of the greatest fighters of the 21st century. But who does he believe are the best to ever do it across the history of the sport?
Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), strengthened his standing among the greats when he dominated Canelo Álvarez to become undisputed super-middleweight champion in September. The victory marked his third undisputed triumph, and he could yet pursue a fourth at middleweight.
A keen student of the game, the 38-year-old had no hesitation in listing his five greatest fighters of all time during an appearance on the Pound for Pound podcast hosted by decorated UFC fighters Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman.
“You got Sugar Ray Robinson, you got Sugar Ray Leonard, you got Floyd Mayweather, you got Marvin Hagler, you got Roberto Duran. That’s five for you right there.”
Cejudo – himself a former two-weight UFC champion – questioned the inclusion of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, prompting Crawford to elaborate.
“Yeah, that dude was great. And there’s so many more like ‘Sweet Pea’ (Pernell Whittaker).”
Robinson comes to mind for many boxing figures when discussing the greatest of all time, with Mayweather also a choice that some of the current crop of stars have named.
As for Leonard, Hagler and Duran, the three boxing legends were part of the iconic ‘Four Kings’ alongside Thomas Hearns, taking the sport by storm in the 1980s where they were involved in a number of epic battles against one another.
