It’s what every boxer fears most.

It’s not a knockout punch. It’s not a defeat. It’s not a broken bone. It most likely is not even losing a world title. Every boxer fears the low blow more than anything – and Amir Khan took one from Terence Crawford, one of the deadliest and most brutal knockout artists in the sport’s history.

In 2019, Khan lost to the still unbeaten American after he was caught with a stomach churning low blow. Despite being afforded a full five minutes to recover, his trainer ended the contest in the sixth round, affording Crawford a TKO victory.

Khan was peppered with criticism, despite taking a stiff left hand to the groin. To put this into perspective, Crawford currently commands a 40-0 record with 31 TKO victories. The Brit took one of his most ferocious punches directly in the zone all men fear most.

If you are one of those with the gumption to criticise the former unified lightweight world champion, have a read of his description of the pain and the condition of his special place.

“You know when I met him, he even said to me: ‘you were tough enough to stand back up after that,’ because he knew,” Khan said in an exclusive interview with Daily Star Sport, while speaking on behalf of Wow Hydrate. “Obviously, we’ve become friends after that.

Not many fans, fighters or pundits gave Francis Ngannou much of a shot when he announced his pro boxing debut would be against undefeated two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

In fact, the general narrative was that Fury could end the bout as and when he pleased.

Eddie Hearn, Devin Haney and Terence Crawford all gave the former UFC champ no hope of springing the upset, with Crawford in particular saying he had ‘zero’ chance.

Ngannou not only made it the ten-round distance and boxed impressively, but he knocked Fury down in the third round. He left the ring as moral victor, but missed out on the official win via a split decision in favour of the Brit.

He has since mocked the three predictions mentioned above.

‘Bud’ Crawford – undisputed at welterweight and widely considered as the best fighter in the world – has now shared his verdict on social media, saying that his prediction was right but giving brief props to Ngannou.

Ngannou now finds himself a man in demand on the heavyweight scene. He has been called out by Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora just one week on from the fight.

With an MMA contract with the Professional Fighters League already signed, there’s a chance that he may not stick around the squared circle straightaway, but there’s no doubt he’ll be back.

The 37-year-old has made clear that the fight atop his own wish-list is a rematch with Tyson Fury.

It would be tough for some to fathom. The pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, a technical wizard, is equally adept at wrestling. Recently, a few videos of Terence Crawford dabbling in carefree wrestling jaunts stunned scores of fans and followers. The undefeated champion created history this year. He defeated long-time rival Errol Spence Jr. on July 29, becoming the first male two-division undisputed champion.

Terence Crawford, pleased as punch!

Taking to his Instagram stories, the Welterweight champion first shared a short clip showing the venue where the tournament took place. Then the following stories had photographs of his sons, both standing with their mementos and medals, the first one had Terence Crawford Jr. It’s not clear whether the second picture had T. Bud Crawford or Tyrese Crawford standing. Congratulating his son, ‘Bud’ wrote, “Number two, good job, son.”

A few months ago, clips of Terence Crawford displaying peerless wrestling skills gained considerable traction on social media. In August, @parrypunch shared clips of the boxing champion grappling with a member of Kazakhstan’s national wrestling team. Though the video is almost a year old, the Instagram post garnered over sixty thousand likes. The message read, “The grappling skills of undisputed Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford are on point.”

As far as the squared circle is concerned, it’s still not clear against whom Terence Crawford would be going up next.

‘Bud’ at the Crossroads

Soon after the big fight with Spence Jr., speaking across multiple podcast studios, the Nebraskan expressed a keen interest in pursuing a match with either Canelo Alvarez or Jermell Charlo. Then, in between, there were talks of a face-off with Gervonta Davis. But Crawford clarified that it is not going to happen until the Baltimorean climbs to 147 pounds. In the meantime, new developments occurred.

By September, Errol Spence Jr. had invoked the rematch clause, which was part of their initial fight’s terms. On the other hand, Charlo suffered defeat at the hands of Alvarez on September 30. So technically, it boils down to two choices for Terence Crawford: go with the rematch or follow up with the undisputed Super Middleweight Champion. However, several experts have voiced concern about whether climbing three divisions up would be such a prudent decision for ‘Bud.’ Anyhow, if nothing else, he could always go back and pursue other divisional challengers.

Given his prowess in wrestling, should Terence Crawford give MMA a chance? Please share your views with us in the comments below.