Abass Baraou is keen to kick on in the super welterweight division as Terence Crawford prepares his move up to 154lbs.
Crawford is the former undisputed welterweight champion and will fight WBA champion Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles on August 3.
Baraou fights this weekend against MacAulay McGowan for the European title, live on DAZN this weekend (except UK and Ireland).
The German knows he faces a challenge this weekend and beyond.
“Of course I respect any champion who stays a champion,” Baraou told Boxing Scene. "You know what they say, becoming a champion is hard but staying a champion is harder. With this mindset, I keep going on and everyone else who does that, there’s a big respect for them.
“There is good honor to that. If you just become European champion for one fight and then throw it away, I don’t think there’s much history to it. If you do a lot of defenses and stay as a European champion, I think there’s a legacy to it.”
Discussing Crawford’s move up, he made it clear he was ready for the biggest names available.
“There’s a lot of things going on. I have good momentum and I’m ready to take those fights,” he said. “It’s about opportunities. If I can jump into that position, I will do it right away. I think those kind of chances will present themselves. If they need a replacement, I’m here for it.”
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