Claressa Shields appears to have contacted Terrence Crawford. She apparently requested an undercard match for his headline fight in Saudi Arabia. Yes, that’s right, Saudi Arabia. The former undisputed champion appears to have received support from none other than His Excellency Turki Alarusik. He played in one of the biggest games in 2023. But when it comes to finding his next opponent, it’s been a difficult journey for Terrence Crawford ever since.
Even an overture to fellow big star Canelo Alvarez led nowhere. And there’s no sign of a rematch with Errol Spence Jr., at least not anytime soon. So what options does he have? Time is running out for him, “Bud.” He will turn 37 in September of this year. Considering Saudi Arabia has become one of the biggest centers for international boxing, getting a chance to showcase his talent in the Middle Eastern country wouldn’t be such a bad idea either. Claressa Shields has already fought in Saudi Arabia, so a matchup on the undercard seems pretty promising.
Terence Crawford: Another milestone on the way?
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“Please put me on the undercard, @terencecrawford!” Shields wrote. She was replying to a tweet posted by the latter. “Bud” Crawford responded to an earlier tweet from His Excellency Turki Alarusik with a silent emoticon. The General Entertainment Authority’s post featured a photo of Crawford shrugging his shoulders and a boxing glove emoji above it.
Given the American champion’s reaction, one can only speculate that some kind of plan is at hand to coax Crawford into making his debut in the Middle Eastern country. Saudi Arabia has hosted a number of high-profile heavyweight bouts recently. After a rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua in 2022, the region last year promoted a highly paid fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. And this year, Joshua and Wallin’s December Rumble, “Day of Reckoning,” was followed by Joshua and Ngannou’s “Knockout Chaos.”
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There’s still one more. Tyson Fury will face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship next month! Needless to say, Saudi Arabia has emerged as a major focus for many of boxing’s top names to increasingly converge. So you can only imagine what happens when the best pound-for-pound boxers finally get into the big fight.
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Claressa Shields: Pushing the boundaries
Claressa Shields made history in February alongside Kelsey DeSantis. Their bout was the first mixed martial arts bout featuring women to take place in Saudi Arabia. But when it comes to boxing, Shields’ fate is similar to Crawford’s.
In fact, her title defense took place almost two months before Crawford vs. Spence Jr. On June 2, she defeated Maricela Cornejo by unanimous decision to undisputedly retain her title. There’s also a call-up for her biggest rival, Savannah Marshall. She was also seen turning away from a British boxer’s press conference. However, there is still hope that the two will reunite for a rematch. What’s more, Marshall is also a member of the Professional Fighters League (PFL) like Shields, so she could end up trading jabs inside the Octagon.
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Afterwards, she got into a heated exchange with fellow American champion Alicia Baumgardner. However, the weight difference is so large that it seems unlikely that they will advance.
Do you think it’s a great idea for Claressa Shields to fight on Terrence Crawford’s undercard? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
