While the rankings are pretty subjective, Terence Crawford didn’t have to work hard to sway many whom consider him as the best pound for pound boxer in the world. Crawford beat down Jeff Horn, making his transition from the 140 pound division to 147 seamlessly. Many wondered if he was too small to succeed in the welterweight division, but Crawford responded by bullying a bigger, Jeff Horn into a 9th round stoppage.
Crawford landed shots at-will and overwhelmed Jeff Horn throughout most of the fight, putting on display again why Terence Crawford is one of the best boxing talents in the world. The WBO championship belt now lands on the waist of Terence Crawford. As now, he will likely begin a waiting game all too familiar among his divisional foes.
Meanwhile, boxing heads and former champs everywhere know that we are witnessing someone special. The switch hitting Crawford has been impressive and dominant in the ring, while mild-mannered and humble, out. Terence Crawford is especially dangerous, in that he’s a fighter wanting to unify the division. That means that we may actually be able to sidestep bullshit boxing politics in order to see quality unification bouts.
“I feel like I’m stronger, more, you know, energized. I feel like this a great division for me.”–Terence Crawford
Sure, it sounds easier said than done, but Terence Crawford easily draws a million eyeballs on his fights. While the idea of promoter Bob Arum and Al Haymon, promoter of the PBC stables’ champions, sounds far-fetched, if Crawford is getting the views, then the money may assist in negotiations.
#⃣1⃣ Floyd Mayweather on Terence Crawford: "We know he's pound-for-pound the best fighter in boxing." [@FightHype]
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) June 11, 2018
Terence Crawford wants the big fights. Namely, he is eyeing Errol Spence in particular. While boxing politics are a never-ending threat to a fight like that, it still is more realistic than many alternatives. Despite wanting to unify the division, Crawford is going to have to become as marketable as he is talented. Otherwise, fighters will find excuses to side-step him, and we’ve witnessed that the welterweight division is perfect for that. If Crawford can make fighters rich (on pay per view events), then he may be able to entice guys like Danny Garcia or Shawn Porter to put their record on the line. Going forward, however, let’s hope for an Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford bout for summer ’19.