Terence Crawford: “This is Manny Pacquiao’s last fight when he fights me. It’s time for a new generation to take over boxing.”

Terence Crawford is quickly becoming one of boxing’s biggest stars as the now 28 year old is a now a two division world champion and has his name in the running to get a fight with the legendary eight division world champion, Manny Pacquiao.

In this “On The Ropes” boxing radio interview with Terence Crawford, I discuss his latest win and his rise in the sport. Terence also talks about the potential Manny Pacquiao bout and if he sees this fight as a passing of the torch. Additionally, Crawford gives his thoughts on Mayweather’s all-times standing, Gennady Golovkin’s rise and what he thinks will be next for his own career. Here is what Terence Crawford had to say.

Jenna J: Lets talk about your most recent fight against Dierry Jean. You took care of him quiet easily, how do you evaluate your performance?

Terence Crawford: I rate my performance okay, but also the best performance that I have is yet to come. I feel like I still have some loop holes in my defense, and kind of rushing my shots and everything, but just going back to the gym working on those little things I need to work on.

Jenna J: This was your third fight at 140lbs, how do you feel in this division? Do you feel like you’ve fully matured into this weight class?

Terence Crawford: I feel strong, I feel comfortable, I feel more energized and relaxed. I feel real good.

Jenna J: Let’s talk about the opponent you had in Dierry Jean. He talked a lot leading up to the fight and you seemed like you really did wanted to punish him. Did you kind of keep him in the fight a little bit more just to make it last a little longer?

Terence Crawford: You know, I just wanted to catch him with some clean shots and I noticed that I was using my shots a couple of times and I was missing and I didn’t want to continue to get caught with it, nothing careless that I shouldn’t be caught with.

Jenna J: You say that the best performances are yet to come? Is there one particular thing you want to improve the most?

Terence Crawford: Well, I don’t think I have no real strong weakness, it’s just all little things. Little sharpen up here, sharpen up there.

Jenna J: Everyone is talking about what’s next for you. They are talking about you and Manny Pacquiao fighting in April. Do you feel like that fight can happen for you?

Terence Crawford: Yeah, I feel it can happen, we’ll just wait and see what happens though. I feel it’s a good fight for me at this point in time in my career. I feel like I’m ready for it and it’s just matter of making things happen on both sides of the field.

Jenna J: If you do fight Pacquiao, people are saying that it would be kind of the passing of the torch. Could you see that fight working out that way?

Terence Crawford: Well yeah of course, this is his last fight when he fights me. Mayweather is already retired, Cotto in a few is going to be retiring. Bradley in a few he’s going to be retiring, so it’s time for a new generation to take over boxing.

Jenna J: What do you think are your biggest strengths over Manny Pacquiao?

Terence Crawford: I don’t know, I never like to say what’s my biggest strength against another fighter because I haven’t fought that fighter, and I never know. So until we fight, I really wouldn’t know.

Jenna J: Let’s talk about the weight class at 140lbs. What do you see out there if the Manny Pacquiao fight doesn’t happen? What are some of the names out there that might interest you?

Terence Crawford: Like I said, I never look at upcoming fighters or looking at other fighters and think, “Hey I need to fight him.” I just let my handlers handle that part of the game, the part of the business side, and I just fight.

Jenna J: The last fight you had was in Omaha, and your previous fight was in Texas. How does it feel coming back home and fighting in front of your fans?

Terence Crawford: It felt great, I felt at home. I felt comfortable, and I felt as if I wanted to put on the best show for them.

Jenna J: Floyd Mayweather officially retired, whether he stays retired or not remains up in the air. What do you think is Floyd’s legacy? What legacy did he leave behind if he is retired?

Terence Crawford: The best ever. He’s done his thing, he did his job, he earned everything that he has, nobody touched him, so he earned his thing.

Jenna J: What fight do you think would bring him back? What opponent do you think would bring him back? What guy would bring him out of retirement?

Terence Crawford: I don’t know, I don’t think at this point in time any fighter today can bring him out of retirement, to either challenge him to a fight right now, because the magnitude of the fight has to be big so he can consider coming back, so I don’t know.

Jenna J: What do you think about where the direction of the sport is going? There are a lot of fights on regular TV now. Premier Boxing Champion is obviously a different promotional organization, but what do you think about the direction of the sport right now?

Terence Crawford: I think the direction of the sport is going great, a lot of people are tuning into boxing. More people are watching boxing again, being that it’s on regular TV, and I feel like boxing is coming back in a strong fashion.

Jenna J: Someone who is on HBO that’s also getting a lot of attention of late is Gennady Golovkin. What are your thoughts on his rising stardom?

Terence Crawford: He is doing a great job in his career, he’s doing everything he is suppose to do and he is doing remarkable with his KO streak, and he got the fans wanting to see him.

Jenna J: If there is any fighter out there out there that you could see beating him, who would that be? Who do you think would have a chance?

Terence Crawford: Andre Ward, because he’s the best right now, and also he is the best active boxer right now.

Jenna J: Do you think it would be too much of a risk for Golovkin to go up in weight being that Ward is a big 168lb fighter?

Terence Crawford: Well yeah, it’s a big risk. I feel that’s why they wouldn’t take that fight, because there is no need right now to take the fight.

Jenna J: In terms of yourself, you’re having so much success right now and you’re fan base is getting bigger and bigger. What would it mean to you to become the best pound-for-pound fighter in the game?

Terence Crawford: Well it’s part of boxing, everybody want to be at the top, they want to be that number one head guy and that’s something we’re all striving for.

Jenna J: How soon do you see yourself returning to the ring? If the Pacquiao fight doesn’t happen, do you see yourself returning in April?

Terence Crawford: I don’t know, that’s up to my handlers, my promoter, and my manager. We can see how everything just plays out with everything else going on.

Jenna J: Well Terence in closing, is there any message you want to send out to all your fans?

Terence Crawford: Thanks for supporting me, and next time I fight, everybody tune in.