He may act like he doesn’t, but Terence Crawford hears everything.

Proving himself, more than anything else, is what he’s built his career on. But with his 38th birthday creeping closer and closer, The Ring’s No. 1 ranked junior middleweight has practically done it all.

From the looks of it, Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) appeared content with wrapping up the final few chapters of his career at 154 pounds. And so far, his decision to head up to the junior middleweight division seemed like the right call. But even with the 37-year-old winning a title in a fourth division recently, he saw no point in attempting to fully unify. He may still decide to but for now, he’ll ostensibly exit his new weight class for a one-off before walking away.

As previously reported by The Ring, Crawford is on the verge of locking in a matchup with Canelo Alvarez, the current Ring, WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champ.

Although negotiations are still being held and haven’t been made public, Crawford doesn’t appear interested in subjecting Alvarez to certain clauses or weight barriers. Instead, he’ll reportedly head on over to the super middleweight division and fight Alvarez on his terms. Meaning, catch weights are out the window.

Brian “Bomac” McIntyre, Crawford’s longtime trainer, offers his input at times. If he believed his man was biting off more than he could chew or gave up too much in negotiations, he would speak up. But so far, he hasn’t. According to him, Alvarez is a helluva fighter but putting certain restrictions on him would take away from the thrill of beating him.

“Why put stipulations in there when you know that you can beat the best?" Said McIntyre to Boxing Social. "Let’s go test ourselves.”

A fight against Alvarez is a test at the highest level, something countless fighters have failed over the years. Just in 2024 alone, Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) stripped both Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga of their undefeated records.

His greatness, however, doesn’t leave McIntyre feeling unnerved. As Crawford continues to put on solid muscle in preparation, the former Trainer of the Year hears the whispers of those warning them. While he understands where they're coming from, he succinctly pointed out what Crawford has done to fighters who were considered special.

“He makes everybody look normal.”