Ranking the Best Potential Opponents for Terence Crawford's Next Fight
It’s official. Terence Crawford has reached the level Frank Sinatra used to sing about.
He’s made it there. And now it appears he might make it anywhere.
The amiable Nebraskan took his Midwestern act to midtown Manhattan on Saturday night and emerged one step closer to superstardom after a fifth-round TKO of rugged Philadelphian Hank Lundy in defense No. 2 of the WBO 140-pound title he won 10 months ago.
“There’s a reason Terence Crawford is building the kind of following he’s building,” HBO analyst Max Kellerman gushed a few minutes after referee Steve Willis’ well-timed stoppage.
“If you put a regular fighter in front of them, there’s simply nothing they can do to keep this level of fighter off of them.”
Indeed, Lundy, who’d lost just three of 20 fights—all by close decision—as a junior welterweight, was a worthwhile challenger. And the brash 10-year pro had some success early while forcing Crawford to adjust to his frenetic, roughhousing style.
But once the adjustment was made, the difference in skill sets was quickly evident.
Crawford noticeably widened the competitive gap in Rounds 2-4 and then finished the display in the fifth with an overhand left that wobbled Lundy, a straight left that dumped him and a follow-up volley that forced Willis’ hand at 2:09—and commenced similar raves from Kellerman’s partner—Roy Jones Jr.
“Terence Crawford is ready for anybody in the world, in any weight class right now,” Jones said, brushing off a suggestion by Freddie Roach that the 28-year-old isn’t ready for the likes of Manny Pacquiao. “For him to say he’s not ready for Manny Pacquiao, I think that’s very wrong. To me, Terence Crawford is ready for anybody on the planet that’s close to his weight class.”
Crawford, now unbeaten in six title fights with four stoppage wins, agreed.
“I told everybody,” he said. “I’ve got power in both hands, and I’ve been blessed with a high IQ and boxing ability. They’re going to take me a long way.”
Given the promotional and network divides that are modern boxing's signature elements, it’s always something of a crapshoot to predict what a guy will do going forward. But we nonetheless put together a list of solid options for the streaking lightweight prospect-turned-junior welterweight star.
Take a look at our picks and let us know what you think in the comments section.
6. Manny Pacquiao
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Hold the tips of your index finger and thumb about an inch apart.
That’s about how close Crawford came to landing what would have been the biggest fish of his nearly eight-year pro career.
Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao would have played that role had he agreed to meet the Nebraska native—and not two-time foil Tim Bradley—in his supposed April swan song. But if Pac-Man wakes up April 10 with what most would consider a third win over Bradley, perhaps he’ll reconsider the exit.
Indeed, 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.
“Down the road—and it's very possible—that a year from now we put him in with Pacquiao,” the Top Rank czar said, after Crawford ripped Yuriorkis Gamboa in June 2014.
“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 farewell and now Thomas Dulorme, Dierry Jean and Lundy in three title-worthy performances at 140, it’s far less difficult to perceive him actually competing with Top Rank’s most prized financial property.
After finishing off Jean four months ago, Crawford made it clear he'd be available.
"I'm ready," he told Max Kellerman. "Bob, make it happen."
Retirement chatter or not, it’s a safe bet that mindset still holds.
5. Lucas Matthysse
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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 last April, 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 in October, 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
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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 gone just 3-2 in his subsequent 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 win/loss mark would scare anyone away from the concept of matching him with Crawford.
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3. Adrien Broner
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Crawford might actually be the fighter 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 last 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 Al Haymon (his current promoter) essentially makes 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.
2. Viktor Postol
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Most 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 just short of five months ago, there was little surprise in Nebraska when the fight ended in Round 10 and made Postol the new champion.
Crawford, as he told BoxingScene.com's Keith Idec, essentially saw what was coming.
"(Postol) did good. He did what he was supposed to do," he said. "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.
No argument here. Consider us on board.
1. Juan Manuel Marquez
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If you can't get the biggest name in the sport, get the biggest name's signature foil.
In this case, that means Juan Manuel Marquez.
When Manny Pacquiao decided he'd rather end his career with a third helping of Tim Bradley rather than a first serving of Crawford, he left the affable Nebraskan still hungering for his initial main-course meal.
Bob Arum floated the prospect of a Mexican dish during the run-up to the Lundy fight, suggesting it could be a logical next step if Marquez passes his would-be return audition in a few months.
After all, both are comfortable at 140 pounds. And both are part of Top Rank's roster of talent.
"Marquez wants to fight in the summer in Mexico City,” Arum said, via Ring Magazine's Mitch Abramson. “He said the knee is fine. We’ll put him in a fight in Mexico City and then if he comes through that fight we’ll match him in a real marquee fight—maybe against a guy like Terence Crawford."
And while a match with a 42-year-old who's not fought in almost two years would mean neither unification nor a significant rise in pound-for-pound rank, it would presumably provide Crawford with a chance to perform in front of an audience far heftier than the Postols or Provodnikovs would bring.
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