Terence Crawford retired as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters at the end of last year, and now, ‘Bud’ has named the three men whom he believe will lead the next generation of boxing and take over the sport.

Crawford hung up the gloves with an unbeaten 42-fight record, having proven himself to many to be the best fighter on the planet by claiming the undisputed title in three separate weight divisions – being the only post-war boxer to achieve that feat.

As a result, Crawford is now being hailed as one of the best fighters of all time, with fans sorry to have seen the last of the 38-year-old southpaw, who continues to be linked to a rematch with Canelo Alvarez, as well as meetings against Ryan Garcia and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

In an interview with Ring Champs, Crawford named Ennis among the three Americans he anticipates will take over the sport, despite their recent rivalry.

“Bam [Jesse Rodriguez], Shakur [Stevenson], Boots [Ennis].”

Ennis became a two-division unified world champion by knocking out Xander Zayas in June, and the newly-crowned WBA and WBO super-welterweight ruler is now looking to add the IBF strap to his waist, seeking a unification with Sunderland’s Josh Kelly.

Meanwhile, Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez conquered a third weight-class when he recently dispatched of WBA bantamweight world champion Antonio Vargas, and the Texan is next seeking a unification with WBC champion Christian Medina ahead of a fascinating showdown with Naoya Inoue next year.

Lastly, Shakur Stevenson made history by becoming boxing’s third-youngest four-division world champion when he dominated Teofimo Lopez to capture the WBO super-lightweight world title in January, athough it is unclear whether he will keep hold of the belt, after recently announcing his move to Zuffa Boxing.