Terence Crawford should heed the ghost of Roy Jones Jr as he completes the game in Vegas

If Roy Jones Jr. had retired after his 2003 victory over John Ruiz, the picture of his legacy might look very different.

'Superman' was near-flawless that night, outboxing 'The Quiet Man' at their natural weight to win the WBA world heavyweight title at the Thomas & Mack Center.

If Jones had walked then, he would have been in any then-contemporary chat as the greatest to ever do it, alongside Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammmad Ali and Roberto Duran.

He had accomplished something historic, a move from middleweight to the top and a triumph with a recognised sanctioning body title. He would have gone out as a superstar.

Fans and historians to this day would forever speculate on the result of a Lennox Lewis encounter, the what-if factor that could have further enshrined and elevated his legend.

Instead, Jones fought on across another twenty years, with his subsequent decline a tarnished mark on a once glowing record and plenty of revisionism on his pantheon place.

This is all to say that, one week on from a seismic victory that ensures his own reputation as one of the new millennium's greatest fighters, Terence Crawford should take note.

In the end, last Saturday was never about weight. It was about true greatness, the pursuit of formal mastery and the twist of sleight-of-hand convention against the naked eye.

Las Vegas is a city of illusion. The massive scale of its casinos, devoid of smaller surroundings for comparison, leads the brain to underestimate their true size and distance.

There, in Sin City, Crawford produced a masterful display to silence the brigade who insisted that Canelo Alvarez would be a bridge too far, too big and too strong at 168lbs.

The Mexican was 11-0 with four KOs as a super-middleweight, and had disparaged Crawford’s resume in the build-up, suggesting several times that it lacked a truly stellar name.

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Canelo’s case for Hall of Fame admission will be unimpeachable when he does calls time on his own career, which makes the American's win all the more special for its measure.

The Omaha man has his statement win over a fellow pound-for-pound great - and the manner of that victory means that for many, he now sits as the best of his type in the sport.

Three years ago, Dmitry Bivol offered the template on how to beat Canelo, utilising superior movement, deft footwork and precise jab-and-move tactics to outwork him in the ring.

The star used his reach to set up the combinations and keep his foe away - an advantage that Crawford exploited thanks to a four-inch difference that gave him a crucial edge.

While everyone talked about the jump in weight, not nearly as many picked up the difference here, with Canelo ultimately unable to offer answers when 'Bud' put it all together.

Bivol comprehensively did the job in 2022 with quick footwork, fast hands and a disciplined control across the distance. Crawford saw, learned and delivered the night of his life.

But it is what he does next that will see how he is remembered. He is a three-weight undisputed champion, unbeaten in forty-two professional fights and with generational wealth.

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He is also thirty-eight this year - and if the echoes of Jones still rumble through the streets of Paradise, then Crawford may pause to consider them as he studies his next moves.

It is scarcely believable what he is doing. He has had only six fights in the past six years. He was out of the ring for thirteen months, and still put on a clinic in enemy territory.

Old-timers, who often swear that a good fighter is a busy fighter, would be perplexed by his schedule, would surely point to the frequency of Naoya Inoue's activity for their point.

'The Monster' proved he was more than a one-trick KO pony by comprehensively outboxing Murodjon Akhmadaliev the same night in Nagoya, four months on from his last bout.

Now, he is already confirmed to be back in the ring just after Christmas, heading to Saudi Arabia on December 27 for his fourth world title fight of the year, against Alan Picasso.

The difference between one fight a year and fighting at that level is a joke. The maths don't add up. Crawford is seemingly a talent without equal after his biggest triumph yet.

But he needs to think long and hard about what he does next. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has already suggested a fire-and-ice bout against David Benavidez at 168lbs.

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As Jones found out nearly a quarter-century ago, there is always another challenge, another challenger, another mountain to climb - but Crawford need not follow his path.

He can do what he wants from here. He was walked through the fire, he has earned that right. Whatever draws men like him and Canelo back in is more than their wallets.

When you enshrine your place in history, the pull from the ring has its roots in your very soul, not in conversations with your bank accountant.

Their bout was a high-level fight, not a money grab from faded superstars. But if Crawford really cares about the legacy he leaves behind, then retirement has to be an option.

He was brilliant - still is - but there is nothing new under the sun now. As Jones discovered in his pursuit of one more high, when it comes to boxing peaks, nothing last forever. 

One day for the Nebraska native, the years and his spells of inactivity will sadly blunt those sultry skills beyond recall, especially if he should  carry on too long in pursuit of them.

Against Canelo, I strongly suspect that Crawford reached his artistic zenith as a fighter - and it would be a refreshingly fitting end to see him bow out at the very top of his game. 

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