Boxing
Crawford's trainer reveals stance on potential Benavidez fight after Canelo win
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Terence Crawford’s trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre has rubbished claims that his fighter could face light heavyweight world champion David Benavidez next.
Crawford became the first man to reign as undisputed in a third weight class by defeating Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez by unanimous decision on Saturday night, and boxing’s kingmaker Turki Alalshikh posted on Twitter shortly afterwards asking if Benavidez could cut back down to 168lbs as he teased a clash with Crawford.
Benavidez previously competed at super middleweight, twice reigning as the WBC world champion, and lost his belt outside of the ring on both occasions.
That allowed Canelo to take possession of the title, and when a fight with Alvarez never transpired, the unbeaten Benavidez moved up to light heavyweight, where he is now the WBC champion.
Asked about facing Benavidez, McIntyre told Fighthype.com: “No, we ain’t doing that fight.
“No, we’re not going to vacate the belts. We’re just going to sit where we need to sit for a minute, and then get back in the gym, and do our thing.”
Instead, McIntyre wants his charge to switch off and relax after a gruelling training regimen, with ‘BoMac’ claiming Crawford took the best part of six months to prepare for his victory over Canelo.
“We’re going to get back in the gym, assess that,” continued BoMac.
“Right now I just want him to go on vacation, have some fun, spend time with his family, because we trained for probably half a year. A lot of time spent away from home, a lot of time spent away from family, so I just want him to get back home.”
Crawford’s activity has slowed in recent years, with the Omaha native fighting once per year since 2020.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who has traded words with Crawford in the past, was another name mentioned - and shot down by BoMac. “He don’t want that,” replied McIntyre when questioned about Ennis.
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