Terence Crawford has instructed Canelo Alvarez to take on one man in particular if he manages to claim world honours once again.
Neither Crawford or Canelo have fought since their clash back in September, which saw ‘Bud’ earn a unanimous decision victory to become undisputed super-middleweight world champion.
Crawford went on to announce his retirement from the sport, while Alvarez has been recovering from elbow surgery, and is expected to return to action in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia later this year.
It seems that the frontrunner to be Canelo’s next opponent is Christian Mbilli, who now holds the WBC super-middleweight title after he was elevated from interim status due to Crawford’s retirement.
Mbilli’s trainer Marc Ramsay revealed last week that they were awaiting a decision on if Mbilli make need to face new WBC interim champion Lester Martinez, but after the WBC’s latest divisional updates, it has seemingly paved the way for a clash against Canelo.
Crawford believes that Martinez deserves his shot though, after posting on social media to say Alvarez needs to fight the Guatemalan if he overcomes Mbilli.
“Yes that needs to be next.”
Martinez was a stablemate of Crawford’s, and over the years ‘Bud’ has tipped the 30-year-old to achieve big things within the sport.
After a draw against Mbilli himself on the Crawford vs Canelo card, Martinez returned in March with a unanimous decision win against Immanuwel Aleem to win the WBC interim title.
Martinez has since had two mandatory defences put upon him, first against Luka Plantic, before then against the winner of a bout between Jacob Bank and Paulinus Ndjolomino. With victories there, a future clash against Canelo could present itself.