Terence Crawford Responds to Being Considered Plan B Amid Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Uncertainty

Reports indicate that if Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury fails to materialize, then plans are on the table to put Terence Crawford on the card.

“Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua could be called off due to issues, according to sources, and a replacement fight between Terence Crawford and Ryan Garcia is being considered,” Mike Coppinger wrote in a post on X.

However, as much as the development shocked the fans, the comments made by the former undisputed champion, who retired in December last year, gave away whether he was open to the idea.

“Where you hear this at?” he asked plainly in response to Coppinger’s post.

This surprise stems from the fresh controversy surrounding the AJ-Fury saga. It centers around Dana White‘s involvement as the promoter of the showdown and Eddie Hearn‘s opposition to it.

For weeks, the Matchroom boxing champion pushed to get the fight back in the United Kingdom.

With both Joshua and Fury coming from England, it became a major issue after it emerged that the other half of the stakeholders’ consortium, including Turki Alalshik, broadcast partners Netflix, and Dana White, who through his Zuffa Boxing has a partnership with Alalshikh and Saudi entertainment company Sella, seemingly expressed interest in staging the fight in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Where you hear this at?

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) September 26, 2026

After rounds of discussions, in which Hearn made his case centered primarily around his side of the contract, which stipulated that the fight could only take place in the UK, it emerged that the bout would indeed take place back home on December 11.

The only difference is that, instead of the previously suggested Wembley Stadium, it will now be staged at the Principality Stadium, which had previously hosted a few of AJ’s fights. The move is reportedly tied to accommodating the viewers watching from the United States and other neighboring regions.

Despite winning that round, however, issues lingered.

In a scathing attack, Hearn went after White and Netflix, which, through a notice, mentioned that the Ring, which is owned by Alalshikh and White, “will collaborate to promote this historic showdown that will stream live on Netflix globally to its 325+ million members at no additional cost.”

Refuting the claim about White’s role, Hearn told iFL TV, “Dana White cannot be involved with this fight promotionally. Netflix clearly didn’t get the memo,” adding later that he would speak with the streaming giant directly to remind them about the contractual obligations.

Pointing to the anomaly, Sport Illustrated’s Chris Mannix highlighted that the AJ-Fury fight is in jeopardy. While Alalshikh wants White as the promoter, Joshua and Hearn want nothing to do with the UFC CEO, since their contract reportedly stipulates that White cannot be a part of the event.

But bringing Crawford into the drama is something no one expected.

So, why Terence Crawford?

It’s been nearly ten months since the Nebraskan switch-hitter announced retirement. It followed his win over Canelo Alvarez on September 13, 2025.

The fight took place at the Allegiant Stadium and was organized under the auspices of the Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season, with White present throughout the event. So, given his ties with Alalshikh, it’s likely the Fury-AJ fight planners might have zoned in on Crawford.

Another reason could be the recent back-and-forth with Ryan Garcia that intensified after the latter stopped Zuffa’s star fighter Conor Benn in a statement victory at the T-Mobile Arena on September 12.

Crawford has so far remained firm about staying retired.

But that doesn’t mean he could not be tempted to change his mind. Tyson Fury did so. Following what became his fifth retirement announcement, the Mancunian stepped back into the ring early this year to make one last run.

So Crawford could also follow suit. In that regard, he himself dropped some hints when a more subtle exchange took place between him and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, who currently holds the unified title at 154 pounds.

“I wanna see something! Yall wanna see me come back and fight so bad don’t yall? @JaronEnnis, would you fight me next if I come outta retirement?” he wrote on X.

Ennis responded that he was ready “1000%,” but Crawford later clarified that he was only testing the waters. Nothing more should be drawn from his comments.

What adds another layer to the latest development is that, similar to Ennis, Ryan Garcia has also expressed his readiness for a face-off with Crawford. “You know I’m ready to Turki to run the fade. I’m ready!!!! ,” he wrote, posting a photo of him alongside Turki Alalshikh.

Alalshikh and Riyadh Season do have a history of using last-minute replacements in some of their high-profile events. Case in point: Shakur Stevenson versus Josh Padley. Stevenson was supposed to face Floyd Schofield but ended up facing Padley after Schofield pulled out after falling sick.

Something similar happened when Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev were initially supposed to face each other in June 2024. But Bivol ended up fighting Malik Zinad after Beterbiev suffered a knee injury.

But as the instances show, the replacements occurred as a result of injuries or some other reason.

So it could be for the first time in the promotion’s history that it is looking for replacements under these circumstances, which sounds outlandish to many due to seemingly different differences between two of the promoters.

Alalshikh will have to use his famous negotiation skills to make Hearn and White understand the situation and put aside their differences. The coming days will reveal if the AJ-Fury saga has finally cleared its last hurdle for good.

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