Garcia tells Alalshikh he is ready for Crawford, but retired champion knew nothing of it

Ryan Garcia has said he is prepared to face Terence Crawford after The Ring's Mike Coppinger reported the bout was being considered as a replacement for Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua. Crawford said he had not been told.

Ryan Garcia has told Turki Alalshikh he is prepared to fight Terence Crawford later this year, while Crawford has questioned why he is only now hearing about the idea, Boxing News reported.

The pair were linked after The Ring's Mike Coppinger reported that issues behind the scenes could stop Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua from fighting on their scheduled date of 11 December. Coppinger said Fury v Joshua could be called off, and that a fight between Crawford and Garcia was being considered to replace it.

The British heavyweights' long-awaited meeting was announced earlier this week, with Fury and Joshua having seemingly agreed to fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

The trouble is Dana White's role. Sources told Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix that Turki Alalshikh, who is funding the fight, wants White as a promoter, while Joshua's contract rules him out, and Eddie Hearn says White and TKO "have been written to": Fury vs Joshua in doubt. Our timeline of the White and Hearn row has how it got here. Tony Bellew has already backed Crawford to beat Garcia if the fight is made.

Garcia responded on social media by telling Alalshikh he was ready to take on Crawford. The 28-year-old defended his WBC welterweight title earlier this month by flooring and stopping Conor Benn in the second round, having won the belt from Mario Barrios in February.

Crawford, 38, retired last December and appeared surprised to be named as a possible opponent. He wrote: “Damn, am I [fighting Garcia]? Why I don’t know about this?”

He also replied to Coppinger's post asking where he had heard it. Crawford became a three-division undisputed champion before retiring, completing the feat by moving up to 168lbs and beating Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision.

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