Is Lightweight Star Terence Crawford the Next Opponent for Manny Pacquiao?

Casual boxing fans could be forgiven for thinking this is a two-fighter sport. After all, despite great performances from the likes of Terence Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs), the 135-pound kingpin who dispatched Raymond Beltran with deceptive ease Saturday night in Omaha, Nebraska, every story in the mainstream press revolves around the sport's dueling suns, Showtime's Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his HBO counterpart, Manny Pacquiao.

This is another one.

Because even as Crawford announced his contention for 2014 Fighter of the Year with a dazzling display of boxing, perplexing Beltran with a combination of counterpunching genius and a blistering, heavy jab from the southpaw stance, attention turned as it always seems to, towards one of the sport's shining lights.

Sure, the crowd was chanting "Crawford, Crawford" throughout the night. Sure, billionaire Warren Buffett was in attendance to support the hometown favorite. And, sure, Crawford cleared out the lightweight division and announced his departure to 140 pounds. 

But these accomplishments could barely even be processed before the inevitable question was asked—wouldn't he make a great opponent for Pacquiao there?

It's a testament to just how much fuel Pacquiao and Mayweather supply to boxing's economic engine. Every fighter in the world from 135 to 154 pounds dreams about a match with either man, a life-changing experience for both the wallet and perception as an elite fighter.

And why not add Crawford to the list?

Fighter	Landed	Thrown	Percentage
Crawford	243	639	38
Beltran	96	366	26

No, this wasn't quite the performance he turned in back in June against Yuriorkis Gamboa, a daring display of guts and a champion's refusal to go down easy. This was, instead, a boxing lesson, one Beltran, a former Pacquiao sparring partner who was expected to give Crawford a tough fight, absorbed mostly via punch after punch to the head.

"He's a great champion," Beltran said in the ring after the fight. "I couldn't handle his timing or his counterpunching. He's an amazing fighter."

What Crawford versus Beltran lacked in drama, it more than made up for with pure athletic excellence. The best part of Crawford's game is not his consummate skill and textbook response to almost any dilemma an opponent could present him with—it is his willingness to match fire with fire.

Throughout the night, whenever Beltran moved to the attack with a powerful left hook or straight right hand down the middle, Crawford refused to cede ground or the initiative. He answered every challenge with flurries of his own, the kind of warrior spirit that turned other defensive masters like "Sugar" Ray Leonard from mere boxers into true stars. 

"Taking risks to please the audience," HBO's Jim Lampley said during the fight. "Another great part of Crawford's game. The crowd would like to see him fight 24 rounds." 

The buzz around Crawford, perhaps, owes more to the aforementioned crowd his emergence as a drawing card and attraction than it does his performance in the right. More than 11,000 fans came out to the CenturyLink Center to see their hometown son. It was exactly the kind of enthusiastic crowd that can make even a tactical showcase feel like a big deal to the viewers watching at home on HBO. 

For years, Omaha was a boxing ghost town. Though the city came out in droves to support his quest to win a National Golden Gloves championship in 2006, Omaha hadn't hosted a professional fight since a four-round bout at an amateur show in 2008. There hadn't been a title fight in the city since Joe Frazier stopped challenger Ron Stander back in 1972.

Crawford, who often went to the ring with either "Omaha" or "Nebraska" on his trunks, has changed all that. Growing up hard in the city's poverty-stricken projects, Crawford was a kid on a bad path before finding the C.W. Boxing Club and a new life. A successful amateur career followed, and pro glory of some kind seemed like a given.

But the streets aren't always so easy to get out of your system. In 2008, early in his pro career and just days before he was scheduled to make his first national television appearance on ESPN, Crawford was shot in the head after a dice game turned ugly. That followed scuffles earlier in the day with security at a town festival that left him temporarily blinded when mace was sprayed in his eyes. 

“I shouldn't have been out there in the first place. I was supposed to be training for a fight but there I am out shooting dice and getting shot," Crawford told the Daily Mail. "At first it didn’t scare me. I wanted revenge but my uncle and some other people spoke to me. I could have been dead but instead I was blessed."

For Crawford, the hard part is over. He's survived his predicament, overcome and emerged as Omaha's new favorite son. He's conquered the lightweight division with panache, if not with ease. If he does meet Pacquiao in the ring, he will do so at the height of his game. 

If the Mayweather fight falls through, and let's face it, it probably will, there is no better opponent than Crawford. It's a fight that would do wonders for both men.

For Pacquiao, after his crushing knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, it would be a clear announcement that his name still belongs in the same breath as Mayweather's.  At 27, Crawford is in his absolute prime. A counter puncher with a smooth, defensive style, he'd likely provide the Filipino star an interesting challenge in the waning days of his legendary career. 

For Crawford, the appeal is even clearer. It's an unparalleled economic opportunity and a chance to secure his place as America's next great fighter. It's the best fight anyone can make outside of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. It's the kind of fight boxing needs—and fans deserve.