Terence Crawford says there was only one way he would’ve rematched Canelo after beating him

Terence Crawford would have been open to rematching Canelo Alvarez but, due to their original contract, a second encounter was firmly “off the table”.

The pair collided for Canelo’s undisputed crown last September, with ‘Bud’ securing a unanimous decision victory after moving up two weight classes.

Due to the size disparity, many considered Crawford a clear underdog against the Mexican, who had remained unbeaten since losing to Dmitry Bivol in 2022.

As it happened, though, Crawford managed to dethrone the long-reigning super-middleweight king and, in doing so, became a three-division undisputed champion.

The American then announced his retirement a few months later, despite rumours of an immediate rematch between the two future Hall of Famers.

There was also talk of a potential clash with Janibek Alimkhanuly which, at the time, would have offered Crawford the chance to become a six-division world champion.

Regarding Canelo, the 38-year-old told The Breakfast Club that he would only have fought him again if there had been a rematch clause in the contract

“Canelo [rematch] was off the table. There was no rematch clause. If the rematch clause was in the contract then I would have honoured that.”

Crawford went on to admit that he was intrigued by a move to middleweight, but only if it involved an undisputed showdown.

This plan was scuppered, however, after Alimkhanuly, the then-IBF and WBO champion, failed a doping test ahead of his three-belt unification match with Erislandy Lara.

If the winner of Alimkhanuly-Lara had faced WBC champion Carlos Adames, then perhaps Crawford would have considered remaining in the sport.