In a recent interview, Terence Crawford revealed that he feared for his life during the weight-cutting process when trying to reach the 135-pound limit.
Crawford has been out of the ring since September 2025, when he retired following his undisputed super middleweight win over Canelo Alvarez. He stepped away from the sport with an undefeated professional record of 42-0, and became the only male boxer to secure undisputed world titles across three weight divisions in his career.
Prior to establishing undisputed statuses at 140, 147, and 168-pounds, “Bud” won his first world title when he picked up the lightweight WBO strap by defeating Ricky Burns via unanimous decision in 2014. Though he found success at 135-pounds, it sounds as though the cuts in weight were unhealthy to achieve considering his natural weight outside of fight camp sat at around 170, and likely affected his performance during the fight.
The retired champion expressed that there were even times that he felt close to death while getting ready for the fight. Despite the difficulty of making 135-pounds, even early in his career, Crawford never missed the limit for a single fight at any weight.
“Man, I almost died before” Crawford said when discussing the hardship he faced when making the 135-pound weight limit.
“If you don’t have to cut so much weight, you can get more out of training, you can get more out of eating, your nutrition, your recovery.”
“You don’t have to put so much into losing weight, in some cases, it benefits you. But in some cases, it hurt you because you are too small.”