This is Rummy’s Corner.
Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in a championship contest that
was broadcast on ESPN, WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford put his title on
the line against former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook.
The action began with a tactical rhythm.
Crawford was studiously testing Brook out of an orthodox stance.
There was a lot of feinting and posturing as both boxers were patiently measuring the
other’s reactions.
They were each trying to get a read on the range, and they were both looking to get their
jabs going.
Late in round 1, Crawford briefly switched to his southpaw stance where he darted in
landing leather.
Some isolated quick exchanges broke out where Crawford and Brook were each having spots
of success.
This trend continued in the first couple of rounds where the two fought on fairly even
terms.
Near the end of round 2, Crawford switched back to southpaw, and he came out in that
stance to begin the 3rd.
Things remained tactical, where both boxers were frequently maneuvering for favorable
positions.
Brook started trying to lead with his right more with Crawford in the southpaw stance.
Things started heating up a bit more throughout round 3.
Early in round 4 Crawford drilled Brook with a short booming right that sent him staggering.The
ropes held him up and it was a knockdown.
He beat the count, and he looked mighty dazed.
Cool as an assassin, Crawford pounced on Brook and referee Tony Weeks jumped in to wave it
off.
The fight was over.
It was a 4th round technical knockout for Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.
Crawford retained his title, and he did so in overpowering style.
With the victory Bud has reaffirmed the fact that he is one of the greatest boxing talents
competing today.
In fact, there are many observers who view Crawford as the best of them all in the current
boxing landscape.
His biggest competition for that top spot include Canelo Alvarez and Naoya Inoue.
Inoue is coming off of an impressive stoppage victory against Jason Moloney a few short
weeks back.
And it looks like Canelo will be fighting on December 19 against Callum Smith.
In my mind, those are the Top 3 pound for pound boxers in the world today, but there
are others who have a valid place in this discussion.
For Crawford this victory was business as usual.
He has a perfect record of 37-0 with 28 of those wins coming by way of knockout.
But more impressive still, Crawford is 15-0 in title fights, with 12 of those 15 victories
coming inside the distance.
That is mighty impressive stuff any way you slice it!
Quickly recapping those 15 championship contests:
In March 2014 Crawford won his first major championship when he defeated reigning WBO
lightweight champion Ricky Burns by 12 round unanimous decision.
In June 2014 Crawford successfully defended his WBO lightweight crown when he scored an
impressive 9th round technical knockout against then undefeated Yuriokis Gamboa.
In November 2014 Crawford made another successful title defense when he was awarded a lopsided
12 round unanimous decision against Ray Beltran.
In April 2015 Crawford jumped up in weight when he scored a 6th round technical knockout
against Thomas Dulorme to win the vacant WBO junior welterweight title.
This made him a two division world champion.
Crawford made the first defense of his junior welterweight title in October 2015 when he
scored a 10th round stoppage victory against Dierry Jean.
In February 2016 Crawford made another successful title defense when he scored a 5th round technical
knockout against Henry Lundy.
In July 2016 Crawford was awarded a 12 round unanimous decision against undefeated Viktor
Postol in a unification bout, where Crawford earned the WBC junior welterweight title.
In December 2016 Crawford successfully defended his unified championship when he scored an
8th round stoppage against John Molina Jr.
In May 2017 Crawford again defended his unified championship when he scored a 10th round stoppage
against Felix Diaz.
In August 2017, Crawford put his unified WBO/WBC championship on the line against undefeated
unified IBF/WBA champion Julius Indongo.
Crawford won the bout by 3rd round knockout to become the undisputed WBO/WBC/IBF/WBA 140
pound champion.
Crawford moved up in weight again in June 2018 when he scored a 9th round technical
knockout against undefeated defending WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn.
This marked Crawford as a three division world champion.
In October 2018 Crawford defended his welterweight title when he scored a 12th round stoppage
victory against then undefeated Jose Benavidez Jr.
In April 2019 Crawford made another successful title defense when he scored a 6th round stoppage
against former junior welterweight champion Amir Khan.
Last December Crawford again successfully defended his WBO welterweight crown when he
scored a 9th round stoppage against then undefeated Egidijus Kavaliauskas.
And then of course last Saturday, Crawford once again looked spectacular when he scored
the impressive stoppage against Kell Brook.
So Crawford is a perfect 15-0 in world championship contests, and he is a three division world
champion who is clearly among the most talented boxers in the world today.
The main criticism from Crawford’s loudest detractors involves his level of competition.
In that sense, it is very similar to the loudest critics of Inoue.
But in both cases, I don’t think these criticisms carry much weight.
I believe the competition level that Crawford has consistently been beating is far better
than his loudest critics would otherwise suggest.
But Crawford just turned 33 years old back in September.
So if he wants to truly make his mark in the sport, beating a better dance partner would
go a long way.
Fortunately for Crawford, he has two potential opponents that can potentially enhance his
reputation considerably.
Errol Spence Jr and Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao.
Pacquiao will be 42 years old next month.
So the Pac-Man is certainly no spring chicken.
But all the same, not only is Pacquiao a living legend, but to this day Pacquiao remains an
elite level champion.
Last year Pacquiao turned back the clock a bit when he was awarded a 12 round split decision
against Keith Thurman.
That victory earned Pacquiao the WBA welterweight championship.
So despite his age, Pacquiao remains a legit force who you can never count out.
If Crawford could land a bout against Pacquiao and win, it would undoubtedly help raise his
profile.
At the same time, it’s a bit of a lose-lose situation because Pacquiao remains risky,
and at his age, a victory over Pacquiao might not command the type of respect it would rightly
deserve.
Then we have Spence Jr.
He actually has a fight coming up on December 5 when he will put his unified WBC/IBF welterweight
championship on the line against former two division world champion Danny Garcia.
Spence himself is a highly regarded pound for pound talent.
Some observers question whether he will ever be the same following his serious car accident
last year.
But that aside, Spence is an undefeated unified champion who appeared to have been steadily
improving.
Provided Spence wins his match-up with Garcia, a showdown between Crawford and Spence would
be the most logical next step for both welterweight champions.
Anything short of a bout against Spence or Pacquiao is unlikely to silence Crawford’s
critics, and with the inherent difficulty of the politics of boxing, it is unfortunate
that the biggest fights that make sense don’t always happen when they matter the most.
But hopefully, Crawford will get the opportunity to face one of these high profile opponents
sooner than later.
And whatever Crawford does next, I for one, will certainly tune in.
That’s all I got!
Thanks for watching everyone, I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night.
This is Rummy’s Corner.