Terence Crawford says no fighter could beat his ‘boxing hero’ in his prime

Terence Crawford recently ended his illustrious professional career having never tasted defeat.

Crawford hung up the gloves at the end of 2025 after 17 years in the sport, with his long list of accolades including becoming a five-division world champion and undisputed in three different weight classes.

His biggest victory arguably came in his final fight, when he moved up to 168lbs and beat Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision to claim all four world titles at super-middleweight.

Crawford is part of an elite group of modern fighters who retired undefeated, alongside the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward, but ‘Bud’ feels the same could have been the case for his boxing hero had he retired towards the end of his prime.

Speaking to Piers Morgan, Crawford revealed Roy Jones Jr to be the legendary fighter in question.

“My boxing hero? Roy Jones Jr. He was unbeatable in his prime.”

Crawford isn’t alone in his admiration for Jones, with the Florida-native at the top of many lists when it comes to favourite fighters of all time.

The prime years that Crawford talks about are widely considered to be mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, where Jones spent a large period as the pound-for-pound number one in the sport.

During that time he beat fighters such as James Toney and Mike McCallum, giving him a record of 49-1 at one stage, with that only loss a controversial disqualification defeat to Montell Griffin, which Jones quickly avenged with a first round knockout win in their immediate rematch.