The American superstar carved out an extraordinary legacy over more than two decades in the sport. Crawford first announced himself on the global stage when he traveled to Scotland and trumped Ricky Burns for the WBO lightweight title to claim world honors for the very first time. That statement victory in 2014 was merely the prelude to an unprecedented reign of dominance. Over the course of his career, Crawford went on to become a five-division world champion, establishing an ironclad stranglehold on the sport by capturing the undisputed championship at three different weight classes—an astonishing feat of versatility and skill that placed him in rare historical company.
The final chapter of his active career seemingly closed last September when he stepped into the ring against Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. In a tactical and physical masterclass, Crawford secured a definitive decision victory over Alvarez to capture all four major super-middleweight world titles, cleaning out yet another division. Shortly after that monumental triumph, he announced his definitive decision to retire from professional boxing, walking away into the sunset with his pristine, undefeated professional record fully intact. However, the allure of the sport—and Canelo Alvarez’s recent, public calls for an immediate rematch—has seen "Bud" openly toying with the idea of a potential comeback, keeping the global boxing community hanging on his every word.
Despite Alvarez’s vocal hopes for a second encounter, Crawford has instead flirted with other intriguing stylistic matchups, including the idea of a high-stakes clash with charismatic puncher Ryan Garcia in the middleweight division. Yet, moving beyond the immediate demands of the heavier weight classes, Crawford recently took to social media to reveal a fantasy matchup that has set combat sports forums ablaze. Writing on the platform X, the Nebraska native confessed that if he possessed the capability to turn back the clock and physically return to the lightweight limit, there is one specific fighter he would love to test himself against: Gervonta "Tank" Davis.
Never one to mince words, Crawford did not hold back when assessing the undefeated Baltimore native, offering a candid critique of Davis’s career trajectory and matchmaking choices. "I wish I was at 135, I’ll stop Tank," Crawford wrote on X. "He talk too much, but be picking and choosing. But we know he would come up with some excuses like he do with Shakur."
Crawford’s pointed remarks directly touched upon a recurring narrative in modern boxing politics regarding Davis’s reluctance to face elite-tier opposition in his immediate weight class. As Crawford alludes to in his public comments, his close friend and stablemate, elite technician Shakur Stevenson, remains intensely hopeful of securing a long-awaited championship showdown with Davis, having been linked to a potential fight against the Baltimore star for a number of years without ever reaching a finalized agreement.
Expanding on his critique of the lightweight landscape and the logistical hurdles that often plague superfights in the lower weight classes, Crawford highlighted the shifting demands and stipulations that frequently derail negotiations in professional boxing. "Then again I’ll come in at 135 and he’ll say I gotta be 130 come fight time," Crawford added, pointing to the often prohibitive rehydration clauses and weight stipulations that characterize modern championship bouts involving elite fighters.
Despite the tantalizing prospect of Crawford dropping back down to lightweight to settle matters with Davis, the reality of the boxing landscape makes such an encounter highly improbable. Furthermore, the wider lightweight division is currently navigating its own period of stagnation at the top tier. Davis himself has remained entirely inactive since his controversial majority draw against Lamont Roach in March 2025—a bout that featured significant knockdown controversy and left many observers questioning the current state and momentum of Davis’s career. With Davis yet to return to the ring or signal his next career move following that contentious result, industry experts deem it deeply unlikely that the paths of Crawford and Davis will collide any time soon, leaving fans to ponder what might have been had eras and weight classes aligned differently.
