Terence Crawford reveals the hardest fight of his career and it’s not Canelo Alvarez

Following his shock retirement from the sport, Terence Crawford has revealed who gave him the hardest fight of his career.

This past September, Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez to become the new super middleweight champion, in what was one of the biggest fights of the century.

And despite there having been talks of a potential rematch between the two, not long after, Crawford shockingly announced his retirement from the sport after he was stripped of his undisputed title.

Finishing his career undefeated at 42-0, the 38-year-old shared the ring with several of the best fighters in multiple weight classes, but one fighter stands out to him as the hardest of his career.

Crawford credits Yuriorkis Gamboa as the hardest fight of his career

For his fight against the Mexican champion, Crawford moved up 14lbs, and many believed that the weight difference would be a determining factor.

And despite Canelo being widely regarded as one of the best fighters of his generation, Crawford snubbed him when naming the hardest opponent of his career.

Back in 2014 after winning the WBO world lightweight title against Ricky Burns, ‘Bud’ went on to defend his 135lb title just a few months later against Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Gamboa won gold in the 2004 Olympics and in the early stages of their fight, he got the better of Crawford, but things changed in the fifth round when Crawford scored his first knockdown.

After a few more knockdowns, Crawford scored the TKO in the ninth round, successfully defending his title on home soil.

And now following his retirement, Crawford has credited the Cuban as the hardest opponent of his entire career.

“No, (Canelo wasn’t the hardest fighter I ever fought),” Crawford said during a live stream with Adin Ross.

“Gamboa (was the hardest person I ever fought). And that was at 135lbs,” he continued.

Crawford wouldn’t come back for a fight against Floyd Mayweather

Conversations continue to go on whether Crawford is higher on the GOAT list than Floyd Mayweather, with the majority of the boxing world claiming that he is.

And despite a fight against Mayweather being a potentially huge payday, ‘Bud’ has stated that he wouldn’t come out of retirement to fight ‘Money’ Mayweather.

“Nah, man (I wouldn’t fight him). Floyd is old man, Floyd is done.”