Terence Crawford’s return to the ring has been delayed until at least May 2025 due to a minor injury, according to Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. Speaking on the Ariel x Ade Show on DAZN, Alalshikh revealed that efforts to arrange a fight between Crawford and Vergil Ortiz Jr. fell through because “Bud” is not in a position to train or prepare for a bout right now.
“I tried and pushed to do this fight [against Ortiz],” Alalshikh said. “But Crawford now is not ready and not training. He has a small health issue, a little injury, but he prefers to fight with us in May and after May.”
In Crawford’s absence, Ortiz will face Israil Madrimov on February 22 in Saudi Arabia, part of the stacked undercard headlined by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s rematch for the undisputed light heavyweight title.
Crawford, 37, last fought in August, earning a unanimous decision victory over Madrimov to claim the WBA junior middleweight title. While recovering, the four-division champion continues to eye a potential superfight against super middleweight king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Get to know more about Crawford here.
Image Credit: ESPN