Ranking the Best Opponents for Terence Crawford's Next Fight

Another Saturday night, another star rises on HBO.

WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford made the first successful defense of his second weight class crown, battering Haitian-turned-Canadian contender Dierry Jean into a 10th-round stoppage before another blissfully contented hometown fanbase at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

The end came at 2:30 of the 10th, when referee Tony Weeks stepped in.

The titleholder's triumph came seven days after middleweight powerhouse Gennady Golovkin and flyweight kingpin Roman Gonzalez starred in their first pay-per-view show for the premium cable giant, and the 28-year-old Crawford earned reviews similar to those earned by the 160- and 112-pound stars.

"When I'm at home, I just feel the vibe and the electricity and I just want to go in there and put on a good show," Crawford told HBO's Max Kellerman.

The winner then continued what had been a contentious pre-fight relationship with Jean and his handlers, looking across the ring and asking, "Did you get what you was looking for?"

Crawford landed 169 punches across nine-plus rounds, including 135 to Jean's head and 34 to his body. He knocked his man down with a right hook in the first round and again at the end of the ninth with shots that Jean complained were behind the head.

Bleacher Report had Crawford up, 90-79, at the time of the stoppage.

Not surprisingly, the entire HBO crew was gushing.

"You can't put normal fighters in front of this level of fighter," Kellerman said.

"He's an American-style monster," Roy Jones Jr. said.

"Any night that you see a fighter like this on TV, that's a treat," Jim Lampley said.

As is typically the case with impressive ring victories in prime television placements, Crawford's triumph already has people pondering what comes next. And as is typically the case when that happens, we're here to drop a few of our own suggestions into the general conversation.  

Given promotional alliances and vendettas, it’s always something of a crapshoot to predict what a guy will do. But we tried our best to put together a list of solid options for the two-division champ. Take a look at our picks and let us know what you think in the comments section.

5. Lucas Matthysse

Alex Menendez/Getty Images

Not all that long ago, Lucas Matthysse was Crawford's presumed next stop on the 140-pound ladder.

The two were co-headliners on a split HBO card on April 18, when Crawford stopped Thomas Dulorme in Texas and Matthysse was a scorecard winner over Ruslan Provodnikov in California.

Both Max Kellerman and Jim Lampley proposed the match that night, and it looked then to be little more than a matter of agreeing to logistics. Right up until Matthysse slipped on a rung, that is.

Viktor Postol beat the Argentine powerhouse into shocking surrender while vying for the WBC's vacant super lightweight belt three weeks ago, and if Matthysse still has Crawford's number saved in his phone at all, the call will now be much less about leverage and much more about redemption.

But assuming Matthysse's head is still in it and assuming Crawford answers, it's still a good fight.

So long as his power hasn't vanished, he'd be the most dangerous one-punch foe the Nebraskan has met. And thanks to his No. 4 slot on Ring Magazine's rankings at 140, he'd still be a valuable name on a resume, too.

4. Ruslan Provodnikov

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

He might be the toughest steppingstone in boxing history.

Ruslan Provodnikov was a relatively anonymous 22-1 prior to meeting Tim Bradley in March 2013, and though he's lost three of his last five fights, his reputation as the Siberian Rocky has helped Bradley, Chris Algieri and Lucas Matthysse get over by beating him.

Presumably, Crawford would be little different.

The Russian doesn't have nearly the same overall skill set as the WBO champion, but what he lacks in athleticism he more than makes up for in sturdiness, courage and the ability to just make an opponent's night difficult.

And thanks to the fan-friendly nature of his performances—not to mention his No. 3 slot at 140 pounds in the eyes of Ring Magazine—it's unlikely the recent 2-3 mark would scare anyone away from the concept of matching him with Crawford.

3. Viktor Postol

Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press

The majority of boxing people had slept on Viktor Postol, but not Crawford.

Though the unbeaten Ukrainian was an underdog heading into his match with Lucas Matthysse for the vacant WBC super lightweight title earlier this month, there was little surprise in Nebraska when the fight ended in Round 10 and made Postol the new champion.

Crawford told BoxingScene.com's Keith Idec: 

"

He did good. He did what he was supposed to do. Being that Matthysse couldn't handle the boxing abilities, he did what he was supposed to do. If you look at Matthysse's record, you see that everybody that really boxed Matthysse, they beat him—instead of getting in the trenches and trading with him, for him to land big shots.

"

And now that the coronation has occurred, Crawford seems more than happy to be in the running to take his promotional colleague's (both he and Postol work with Bob Arum) new jewelry.

The match would not only unify Postol's WBC and Crawford's WBO belts, but it would also pair the top two 140-pounders in the world, as labeled by Ring Magazine.

"It'd be good," Crawford told Idec.

We agree.

2. Adrien Broner

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Crawford might actually be what we thought Adrien Broner was.

The 28-year-old climbed the ladder with far less fanfare than his Cincinnati counterpart, but both men looked primed for stardom by the time they picked up belts at 135 pounds.

Broner, though, decided to quickly abandon his new kingdom for higher-profile environs and has since seen the aura damaged with two losses in six fights, though the most recent victory—over Khabib Allakhverdiev—made him a champion at 140.

Crawford, meanwhile, defended his crown twice and became a feel-good hometown story before finally entering the 140-pound neighborhood in April.

The Problem's speed and one-punch power would make an interesting challenge for Crawford's sublime technical skill, and it was a fight that two years ago seemed possible when Bob Arum—Crawford's promoter—told Steve Kim, via BoxingNews24.com, that he wanted to do a "winner-take-all bout" matching the two young stars.

The chasm between Golden Boy (Broner's former promoter) and Haymon (his current promoter) essentially make it a non-starter these days, thanks to the wrangling between the PBC and Top Rank sides. If that ever gets settled, though, put this one among the best the sport can offer.

1. Manny Pacquiao

Bullit Marquez/Associated Press

It wasn’t always the go-to fight, but the prospect of Crawford ultimately sharing a ring with Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao has become the one to ponder.

Promoter Bob Arum started making statements about Crawford and Pacquiao a while back, the way he used to do about Brandon Rios when Bam Bam was an unbeaten lightweight champion.

Arum said in the summer of 2014, per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com: 

"

Down the road—and it's very possible—that a year from now we put him in with Pacquiao. 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.

"

And after Crawford chopped down former sparring mate Ray Beltran in a 135-pound swan song and now both Thomas Dulorme and Dierry Jean in title-worthy performances at 140, it’s far less difficult to perceive him actually competing with Top Rank’s most prized financial property.

In fact, Arum told the Los Angeles Times during the Crawford-Jean run-up that the ball is in Pacquiao's court.

“It’s all up to Manny,” Arum said. “I want to see a good performance from Crawford. He’s fighting a good fighter, and Manny is the kind of proud guy who looks for the toughest opponent.

“So if Crawford gives a great performance, it enhances him as a Manny opponent.”

HBO said Top Rank had decided Manny's swan song would come in April, and after finishing off Jean, Crawford made it clear that he'd be available.

"I'm ready," he told Kellerman. "Bob, make it happen."