By Frank Warren

You would never have guessed Terence Crawford was supposed to be up against it in the early hours of Sunday morning when he embarked on a quest to unify half of the super lightweight division, live on BoxNation.

The WBC champion, Viktor Postol, was tipped to provide the sternest examination of Crawford’s credentials at the MGM Grand Garden. With celebrated trainer Freddie Roach in his corner and having not tasted defeat in 28 professional contests, the Ukrainian was fancied in some quarters to upset the American applecart.

Crawford put paid to any such notions with the kind of slick hitting we have come to expect from this artist of the ring. Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay the 28-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska is that he makes it look easy.

The Iceman, as Postol is known, couldn’t handle the heat, touched the canvas a couple of times and was defeated by a landslide points margin.

Truth be told, he was never really in it.

Key to Crawford’s success is his footwork, he is like the cool kid on the dance floor with all the moves, making the upright Postol look awkward and robotic.

His nimble movement creates angles to snap in shots his opponents have no reply to. The comparisons with Floyd Mayweather Jnr are beginning to surface and I can see where people are coming from to an extent.

For me, however, Crawford provides a far more appealing spectacle because his primary objective isn’t just to snuff out the threat of his opponents. Yes, he is happy operating on the back foot, but he manages to fire off hurtful punches even when in retreat.

He also doesn’t mind mixing it when the situation demands and carries considerable power.

To my mind, Crawford is the best American boxer to emerge for a long, long time and, if Mayweather ever does make his return to the ring, I wouldn’t imagine he would be dialling Bob Arum to check on Crawford’s availability.

Bob was keeping his cards close to his chest when the potential match-up of Crawford and Manny Pacquiao was mooted by the media in the post-fight press conference.

I suspect Manny would prefer to go out with a bang of his own making, so will he steer clear of Crawford for his latest swansong? Bob is not short of options and Jessie Vargas is another possibility.