The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of December 1

Terence Crawford continued his bullet-train rise to the top of boxing on Saturday night with a one-sided drubbing of rugged contender Ray Beltran in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

Crawford's banner 2014 campaign has many fight fans talking up his credentials for Fighter of the Year and his chances of becoming one of boxing's biggest stars in the coming year.

How far can Nebraska's first world champion go? And does he have the makings of a superstar?

Tyson Fury was also victorious this weekend in London, putting the brakes on rival Dereck Chisora once again to become the mandatory challenger for a heavyweight title held by a certain Ukrainian division kingpin. 

Does his latest performance make him a legitimate contender for the throne?

Another week, another batch of rumors in the endless dramatics surrounding Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Is there any smoke to the fire this time around?

All that and more in this week's edition of the hottest boxing storylines, so let's get right to it.

How Far Can Terence Crawford Go?

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Let me get this right out front: Crawford is the Fighter of the Year to these eyes.

He’s won three fights impressively over world-class opposition, closing out his 2014 campaign with a dominant performance against a challenger who was recognized by most as his toughest foe at 135 pounds.

Crawford revealed one of boxing’s worst-kept secrets after outboxing and dismantling Beltran in the Heartland on Saturday night: He’s jettisoning the lightweight division and leaving his world title behind in search of bigger—read: Manny Pacquiao—fights.

Logic dictates that this is a smart move.

Crawford rehydrated all the way up to 153 pounds on fight night—which indicates his body has had just about enough of making 135—and there just aren’t any compelling fights for him at lightweight to justify the continued wear and tear on his frame.

A massive talent pool sits just a few pounds north, and with rumors about that Pacquiao will soon be returning to his old neighborhood because the welterweight cupboard is bare, per RingTV.com, you can say hello, Mr. Crawford. Welcome to the proving ground.

A fight with Pacquiao would probably benefit from a bit more percolation—there’s no need to rush—but guys like Danny Garcia or Ruslan Provodnikov could be serious challenges that would provide a glimpse at how far Crawford can climb the ladder.

If he keeps fighting like he did on Saturday night, Omaha’s favorite son could well be boxing’s next big thing.

Does Fury Move the Needle as a Real Heavyweight Contender?

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Ladies and gentlemen, Fury, the British behemoth, is officially the mandatory challenger for one of Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight belts.

Which one hardly matters—the WBO—but he earned it by taking another victory from longtime rival and compatriot Dereck Chisora on what was Sunday morning by the time they got into the ring in London.

Fury might not have pleased the crowd, many of whom left before the main event got underway because of the late start time, but he got the job done, fighting from a southpaw stance and jabbing his way to victory.

Chisora was never really in the fight, and his corner finally saw enough, pulling him before the start of Round 11 in an affair that probably didn’t send anyone not named Fury home happy.

Though, in fairness, most people had left already before the inevitable conclusion had dawned.

Fury was noticeably subdued this time out. A self-imposed gag order put a damper on the usually boisterous big man, and we can hope that was only a temporary condition.

Love him or hate him—there’s no middle ground—Fury’s brash ways could, at the least, make him an interesting foil for Klitschko, who despite his obvious talent and all-time credentials, remains something of a bland champion.

Whether or not Fury could win that fight is an entirely different question.

But it’s nice to see a big man with a bit of personality operating near the throne again.

Where There's Smoke, Is There Fire This Time?

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The rumor mill, as is customary when neither Pacquiao nor Mayweather has a fight lined up, is churning fast and furious once again.

Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight in 2015, screams anyone and everyone in the vicinity of a microphone or television camera, apparently unaware that the masses of fans have seen this song and dance so many times that they've become numb.

The latest spark of this seemingly long ago dead fire came from comments made by longtime Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach to the Los Angeles Times about a meeting between Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and CBS president Les Moonves, via BoxingScene.com:

"

I was there. I was the third party. I just listened a lot. But they spoke about what they could do and how to make the fight happen. Moonves said he can deliver Mayweather, and, obviously, Bob said he could deliver Pacquiao. It was a very good meeting. What they said in that meeting, if they can do it, the fight will happen. Very soon. I think next. Moonves and Bob walked out to Moonves’ car with their arms around each other. The right people are talking about it. I think that makes it a bigger possibility

"

So there you have it.

Done deal, right?

Arum can bring Pacquiao, and Moonves, who runs the network that doled out a massive contract to Mayweather early last year, can deliver the pound-for-pound king.

Generally speaking, these types of things seem to harden Mayweather even more and make him less likely to accept the fight. He doesn't like the perception that someone is dictating terms to him or forcing his hand into something.

That's just not how he operates. 

Mayweather marches to the beat of his own drum, and until recently only the man himself and Leonard Ellerbe—who could be on his way out—could be relied upon to deliver legitimate statements from his camp. You could add reclusive manager Al Haymon to that list as well, but he never speaks to the media.

It's definitely nice that powerful men are meeting to have high-level talks about a fight that long ago should have been decided, but the notion that anyone can deliver Mayweather seems a bit optimistic.

For the record, this is one situation where yours truly would love to be wrong.

But I doubt it.

Is Jean Pascal the Light Heavyweight Kingmaker?

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Jean Pascal finds himself in an enviable position.

The former undisputed light heavyweight champion will face lightly regarded Roberto Feliciano Bolonti on Saturday night at the Bell Centre, but that fight is more an appetizer to the main courses that could come next.

You never want to say never in boxing—and Bolonti has good punching power—but much bigger fights lie on the horizon for the now 32-year-old former champion.

Adonis Stevenson, the WBC and lineal 175-pound champion, considered facing Pascal in December in what would have been a massive event in the Montreal area, but he couldn’t come to suitable terms on money.

Sergey Kovalev, fresh off a one-sided demolition of ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins to unify three-fourths of the light heavyweight crown, has also expressed an interest, and negotiations for a fight are ongoing.

Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com reported last week that Pascal’s team was satisfied with its position—with both big dogs in the light heavyweight division wanting a fight—but felt a deal could be more easily reached with Kovalev.

“I am of the opinion that Kovalev-Pascal is the best light heavyweight fight that can be made without the complications that come with dealing with Adonis Stevenson,” CEO of Jean Pascal Promotions Greg Leon told Burton.

Kovalev vs. Pascal would indeed be an important and significant fight, and it’s telling that Pascal’s team is reluctant to deal with Stevenson.

The 37-year-old has failed in every pursuit of a significant fight since winning the light heavyweight crown with a stunning first-round demolition of Chad Dawson in June 2013. He has developed a reputation as a fighter who finds ways out of instead of into significant fights.

He walked away from a showdown with Kovalev, missed a chance at Hopkins and now seems on the verge of losing out on Pascal as well.

Bad for Stevenson, but good for Pascal, who seems like something of the light heavyweight kingmaker.

He might have to wait until deep into 2015 to step through the ropes with Kovalev—who has mandatory challengers to deal with first unless some deal can be worked out—but there are worse things in the world.

Can David Lemieux Become a Major Player?

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David Lemieux can punch, but is that enough?

The 25-year-old Canadian bomber will make his American debut on Saturday night, taking on rugged former world-title challenger Gabriel Rosado in the main event of HBO’s Boxing After Dark at the Barclays Center.

This fight isn’t receiving a ton of mainstream attention, but it should, especially since Lemieux is such an intriguing case.

He has tremendous punching power—that much isn’t in dispute—but he’s been soundly beaten each of the two times he’s stepped up in class.

Still, he’s young and exciting and should have every opportunity to make a statement in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night.

Rosado is a solid opponent, but he’s being brought in as fodder to make Lemieux look good at this point.

The former contender is as tough as they come, and he’ll fight to the last breath, but he’s winless in his last four and has fallen down the ladder to journeyman or trial-horse status.

With his history of getting busted up—he bleeds often and usually badly—Rosado has the look of an opponent.

Still a name?

Check.

Still willing to go out on his shield and make an exciting fight?

Check.

Realistic chance of winning?

Never say never, but it seems unlikely.

Lemieux is the favorite. He’s supposed to win.

But it’s not just about securing the W. Doing it impressively is the formula for making a statement.

This is a showcase fight, and it’s designed to move the needle toward bigger things, but you just can’t afford to sleep on a fighter as gutsy as Rosado.