The manager of WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu 24-0 (17) believe a fight against former two-weight undisputed champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31) could be worth as much as $USD10 million to his boxer.
The 29-year-old Australian will defend his belt against late replacement Sebastian Fundora 20-1-1 (13) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday night with the vacant WBC 154-pound title also up for grabs.
The WBO recently announced that the winner will need to negotiate a fight with their number one contender. Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford, 36, is set to be announced as the mandatory contender in the Puerto Rican-based sanctioning body’s next ratings update.
Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings says they would welcome the opportunity for Tszyu to test himself against the slick southpaw who is widely consider the best pound-for-pound boxer on the planet.
“We’re talking big numbers – it would be the highest-grossing fight in Australian boxing history,” Jennings said to Fox Sports Australia.
“I would think $25 million would be the figure we’re looking at for a Crawford-Tszyu fight, and that’s American dollars.
“Crawford is a $USD15 million fighter, so if you draw a line from that, Tim would be around the $USD10 million mark, because he would be the unified champion going into that fight (if he beats Fundora).
“A fight like this would be wonderful for Australian boxing and the sport worldwide.
“There is an absolute pathway there now. It’s as serious as it’s ever been and we’ll see where it lands after Tim gets the job done against Fundora on Sunday.
“No other Australian fight would come close to Tszyu-Crawford. This would be a record breaker.”
Tszyu’s promoter George Rose says talks are already underway with a meeting scheduled this week to discuss the particulars.
“We’ll be sitting down tomorrow (Thursday) with the Crawford team,” the No Limit Boxing chief said to Fox Sports Australia.
“We will discuss a potential superfight with the current pound-for-pound champion of the world.
“Crawford’s team will be here in Vegas so we’ll have some talks.
“We’re also talking with other parties, but our absolute focus is Fundora and making sure things run smoothly this week.
“There’s so many exciting fights that can happen for Tim and Crawford is one of them.
“There are two fighters on the horizon. Crawford is one of those two, I won’t mention the other one, but Crawford is absolutely being considered for Tszyu’s next fight and the fact he has come up to 154 shows he means business.
“If Tim fights Crawford, which could happen in the next fight or two, it would be the highest-grossing fight in Australian boxing history.
“We’ve seen some blockbuster events like Horn-Pacquiao and there was Kambosos-Haney, but Tszyu-Crawford would smash anything we have seen in Australian boxing.
“It’s possible Tim could have his next fight in Australia (against another opponent) and then face Crawford later in the year.
“There’s a few options on the table.”
Tszyu issued a stern warning to Crawford.
“Why would I be scared of him?” Tszyu said to Fox Sports Australia. “He should fear me.”