Undefeated world champion Terence Crawford is aching to get the biggest fight of his boxing career -- a showdown with Manny Pacquiao -- but Floyd Mayweather said the 28-year-old should be very cautious.
Philippine Star reported that Terence Crawford is just waiting for the opportunity to face Pacquiao. Boxing manager Cameron Dunkin expressed hope that Pacquiao will pick Crawford for his comeback fight early next year.
When asked about the potential showdown between Pacquiao and Crawford, Mayweather cautioned the young challenger because he is sounding like he is very confident of his chances against the Filipino boxing icon.
Mayweather scored a masterful unanimous decision win against Pacquiao during their record-setting showdown in May in Las Vegas. But while the undefeated boxing superstar cruised to a comfortable win, he also admitted that he had a hard time dealing with Pacquiao.
"If Terence Crawford happens to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to let him know that it's not going to be easy," Mayweather told Fighthype. "Even though I know I made it look easy, it's not going to be easy."
Mayweather also admitted that he thought he will score an easy win against Pacquiao heading into the fight, but he was wrong, saying that the former pound-for-pound was better than what he thought.
"He's a lot better than what I thought he was," Mayweather said of Pacquiao. "From me being in the ring with Manny Pacquiao, I take my hat off to him and I can see why he went so far in his career."
According to Mayweather, Crawford, who is the reigning World Boxing Organization super lightweight champion, should not think that he can beat Pacquiao based on his impressive ninth-round knockout victory against Yuriorkis Gamboa last year. He said that Pacquiao is way better than Gamboa.
"Terence Crawford gotta realize that Pacquiao is bigger and stronger than Yuriorkis Gamboa, and he hits harder," Mayweather added. "Not taking anything away from Yuriorkis Gamboa because I think he didn't fight Yuriorkis Gamboa at 100%, but I don't ever want to take anything away from Terence Crawford because I like that kid."
Crawford, who has a perfect 27-0 fight card with 19 knockout victories, is considered as frontrunner in the race to land a bout against Pacquiao. Aside from Crawford, Pacquiao and his camp are also considering a showdown with British boxing star Amir Khan, who is a former sparring partner and stable mate of the eight-division world champion.
