Ranking the Best Opponents for Terence Crawford's Next Fight

Another Saturday, another star showcase for a Top Rank fighter.

Just seven days after promotional stablemate—and potential future foil—Manny Pacquiao spent 36 minutes re-establishing his global brand, WBO lightweight champion Terence Crawford took to the HBO airwaves to reposition himself as the class of the company’s burgeoning group of youngsters.

Crawford defeated rugged No. 1 contender Ray Beltran by unanimous decision in front of a partisan crowd at the CenturyLink Center in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and earned rave reviews from ringside analyst (and former four-division world champion) Roy Jones Jr.

“I love the kid’s diversity. He’s a great fighter,” Jones said on the broadcast. “Just a few more fights down the road and he’ll be on that top-five pound-for-pound list, I believe.”

Crawford’s confirmed after the fight that it was his last appearance in the 135-pound weight class before a rise to 140, where he’ll join one of the sport’s most crowded mixes of high-end fighters—several of whom could be on a short list of opponents to come.

It’s always something of a crapshoot to predict what a guy will do in a new division, but we nonetheless put together a list of solid options for the enterprising lightweight-turned-junior welterweight. Take a look at our picks and let us know what you think in the comments section.

4. Khabib Allakhverdiev

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You want a rugged guy who’ll provide you with a legitimate 140-pound test and give you the chance to look really good while passing it? Look no further than Khabib Allakhverdiev.

The Russian-born southpaw was a streaking commodity in the weight class and carried both the IBO and second-tier WBA belts into the ring for an April match with Jessie Vargas that he ultimately dropped via unanimous decision on the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard in Las Vegas.

He’s expected to fight for the first time since that loss in early December and, so long as he wins, would be both a legitimate and sensible foe for Crawford. Allakhverdiev has worked with Top Rank in the past and has fought 10 of 20 pro bouts in the U.S., so it shouldn’t be a hard deal to strike.

A win over the Hawk doesn’t christen anyone as a world-beater, but a loss could quickly identify a pretender.

3. Jessie Vargas

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Los Angeles native Jessie Vargas moved into the Pacquiao conversation with a defeat of Antonio DeMarco on the Pacquiao-Algieri undercard last week, but the uneven nature of his performance against the ex-lightweight title claimant may necessitate another audition instead.

If that’s the case, a match with Crawford makes sense as what would amount to a Top Rank eliminator for Pacquiao while also keeping the promotional company’s slice of the WBA title at 140 (as meaningless as it is, considering Danny Garcia’s actual status) in play for that match, too.

If Crawford were to score a win over a young (25 years old) and unbeaten (26-0) commodity like Vargas—who spent part of his career at 147 before moving down and beating Allakhverdiev for the dubious title hardware—it would provide a shred of legitimacy for a Pacquiao fight that simply winning and defending a lightweight belt haven’t yet created.

And if Vargas were to emerge with a win, he would clear his own last Pac-Man hurdle, too.

2. Danny Garcia

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For all intents and purposes, Crawford has established himself as the top man at 135 pounds and seeks to add that title at 140 pounds as well. And when it comes to 140, all roads to “I’m the man in this weight class” travel through Danny Garcia’s backyard.

The 26-year-old Philadelphian announced his presence on the top level with defeats of Erik Morales and Amir Khan in 2012, then cemented the claim a year later with wins over Zab Judah and Lucas Matthysse.

Rather than what for a time looked like a possible match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., 2014 has instead yielded a difficult—and controversial—defeat of Mauricio Herrera and a two-round blowout of no-hoper Rod Salka, which has Garcia heading toward the New Year still in search of a big-ticket foe.

Crawford could be that guy, and he confirmed his interest in the idea of again meeting a two-time amateur foe during a recent appearance on the Ropes Boxing Radio. “If that fight presents itself, then yeah. I’m willing and up for any challenge,” he said. “It’s a tough weight class, there’s a lot of talent there, being that it’s a stacked weight class. I’m just ready to get in there and mingle."

1. Manny Pacquiao

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OK, chances are pretty good that a defeat of an ex-sparring partner like Ray Beltran doesn’t automatically qualify one for an audience with Beltran's former boss—global attraction Manny Pacquiao—but Crawford didn’t hurt his chances.

Promoter Bob Arum had already started making statements about Crawford and Pacquiao a few months back the way he used to do about Brandon Rios, when Bam Bam was an unbeaten lightweight champion. Saturday night’s spotlight performance in Omaha only added legitimacy to the idea once Crawford rises full time from 135 pounds and Pacquiao abandons the ranks at 147.

“Down the road—and it's very possible—that a year from now we put him in with Pacquiao,” Arum said in June, after Crawford beat Yuriorkis Gamboa. “That would be a huge fight and a great fight.

“If you really think you have a great fighter with superstar qualities, you move him that way; you don't protect him. You move a superstar into the biggest fights you can make for him, and that's what we are going to do.”

It may or may not be the right one for Crawford, but it’s certainly the biggest one.