Terence Crawford names the hardest fight of his career after announcing retirement

Terence Crawford is preparing for life after boxing following his shock retirement earlier this month.

Crawford announced in December that he has made the decision to hang up the gloves following his historic victory over Canelo Alvarez in September.

‘Bud’ successfully moved up two weight divisions to dethrone undisputed super-middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez, claiming a unanimous decision win at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

That victory saw Crawford become the first male fighter to ever earn undisputed status in three separate divisions, having already achieved it at super-lightweight and welterweight after claiming wins over the likes of Errol Spence, Shawn Porter and Viktor Postol.

While many fans may view Canelo as Crawford’s toughest ever opponent, ‘Bud’ has disagreed, after revealing an unlikely choice as his hardest rival.

Speaking on a live stream with Adin Ross, Crawford named Yuriorkis Gamboa as his most difficult fight.

“Gamboa. And that was at 135.”

‘Bud’ met Gamboa at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska back in June 2014, claiming a ninth round stoppage win to retain his WBO lightweight title.

Gamboa held world honours at featherweight during his professional career after defeating fighters such as Orlando Salido and Jonathan Barros, whilst he also won a gold medal as an amateur competing at flyweight at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

He last fight in April 2022 when he suffered a fifth round stoppage defeat to Isaac Cruz, with that his third straight loss after coming up short against Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis, meaning he has won 30 of his 35 professional contests.