Teddy Atlas has backed Terence Crawford to beat all the fighters at 154.
Following Bud’s ninth-round-stoppage win over Errol Spence Jr, the new undisputed welterweight champion was declared the ‘WBO’ super champion.
As a result, Crawford became Tim Tszyu’s mandatory if he moved up to 154. The Australian will become the new champion at 154 after Jermell Charlo’s fight with Canelo Alvarez.
And given that Jermell is also another possibility at 154, provided he moves back down after his fight with Alvarez, Atlas has backed Crawford to beat all of them.
“I don’t see any fighter. Okay, I’ll remove the weight for two seconds. I don’t see any fighter in that next weight class, and you mentioned [Jermell] Charlo as a possibility, is as good as him, close to being as good as him or capable of beating him, and I don’t know that weight will change that. That’s my answer,” Crawford
Outside of Charlo and Tszyu, the other big names of the division include Brian Mendoza, Sebastian Fundora and Erickson Lubin.
But given Crawford’s skillset, coupled with the fact that all those names mentioned previously have been beaten, Atlas foresees Crawford achieving another milestone.
“He’s probably saying, ‘You’ haven’t seen all of it yet. Give one more challenge and let me open another door in my room,’ because that’s what the great ones think,” Crawford stated