Report: Terence Crawford-Tim Tszyu Soon To Be On The Table

According to his team, there’s already a firm plan in place for Tim Tszyu when/if he beats Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF junior middleweight title this coming Saturday in Orlando, Florida. And that plan involves Terence Crawford.

Numbers tossed around by Team Tszyu claim Crawford-Tszyu is a $25 million (USD) bout and insist that it’ll be an easy fight to make after the second-generation star once again has a world title in his possession. Tszyu lost his WBO 154 lb. belt this past March via blood-soaked upset split decision by late replacement Sebastian Fundora.

“When Tim Tszyu wins the IBF world title he becomes the name in the division,” Tszyu’s promoter George Rose of “No Limit Boxing” told Fox Sports Australia.

“And we know Crawford wants that fight. Tim just needs the belt. Because once Timmy Tszyu has that second world title, it takes him to the top of every conversation in the division. And a division where, right now, there are so many guys chasing greatness. Fighters like Terence Crawford, Errol Spence, Vergil Ortiz, all these guys looking to win world titles, create history.”

One of the things potentially standing in the way of the fight, however, is an apparent falling out with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, who seems to hold the purse strings when it comes to making such a fight for Crawford.

Just this past August, Alalshikh dismissively ruled out working with Tszyu after some failed talks.

“I will not work with Tim Tszyu, Let him do his way, he doesn’t understand.” the Saudi figurehead told Fight HubTV at the time.

Rose, however, believes the fence can be mended with Alalshikh, especially considering the potential magnitude of the event.

“Look, at the time [of Alalshikh’s dismissal] Tim Tszyu wasn’t going to be Crawford’s next fight because we already had a fight locked in,” Rose said. “And we made that clear.

“Right now, Tim Tszyu fighting for an IBF world title is the best thing for him to do. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to fight Terence Crawford. We want Crawford. We want absolutely everybody. And we’ll work with everyone.”

“He [Alalshikh] said he wants to make boxing’s biggest fights, and he’s been doing that…So while a Tszyu fight represents a huge risk for Crawford, now the money will be right for him…It’ll all make sense.”

Another issue with making Crawford-Tszyu is Crawford’s continued focus on landing a Canelo Alvarez fight next. According to even Alalshikh, himself, Crawford’s focus on Canelo is seemingly to the exclusion of all other options.

The Omaha, Nebraska native, who captured the WBA junior middleweight and interim WBO junior middleweight titles with his points victory over Israil Madrimov in August, has already looked past the challenges of Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz. He even recently (and at least temporarily) relinquished his right to demand an immediate title shot against full 154 lb. WBO champ (and WBC champ) Sebastian Fundora, apparently in the hopes of landing the big fight he’s lusted after since becoming unified welterweight champ in 2023 with his demolition of Errol Spence.

The Tszyu fight, if Rose’s money figure is to be believed, would definitely be a blockbuster payday, but it’s not a Canelo fight.

There’s also a rumored two-fight deal on the table for Crawford which would see him face Conor McGregor in an MMA bout and then a boxing match for a reported 9-figure payout. Sports Illustrated just reported that this novelty pairing is something that Crawford once ruled out, but is now “reconsidering.”

All in all, logic and common sense would seem to scream Crawford-Tszyu as next. Fox Sports Australia is reporting that there have been “secret” talks between the two sides dating back to late 2023.

But Crawford seems to be gambling on the bigger-money longshots. At 37, that’s quite a gamble.

Tszyu, meanwhile, has to focus on beating Murtazaliev this weekend before once again pondering world dominance.