Tony Bellew backs Terence Crawford to beat Ryan Garcia in potential showdown

Tony Bellew has warned Ryan Garcia against pursuing Terence Crawford, backing the retired fighter to win if they meet. Garcia called out Crawford after stopping Conor Benn.

Tony Bellew has backed Terence Crawford to beat Ryan Garcia if the pair meet, warning Garcia against pursuing the retired champion, Boxing News reported.

Garcia called out Crawford after stopping Conor Benn in two rounds in Las Vegas on Saturday. The victory marked the first successful defence of Garcia’s WBC welterweight title.

Speaking to The Stomping Ground after watching that fight, Bellew pointed to Crawford’s intelligence: “No, he is too clever, he is too smart. Trust me, he can’t go anywhere near Bud.”

The former WBC cruiserweight champion also highlighted the danger of facing Crawford late in a contest: “You do not want to be going into rounds 10, 11 and 12 with someone like Terence Crawford.”

Crawford has yet to match Garcia’s enthusiasm for the proposed fight. A welterweight unification bout against WBA champion Teofimo Lopez instead appears to be Garcia’s likely next step.