By Edward Chaykovsky
WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford (28-0, 20KOs) admits it's tough to secure the top names because a lot of them are paranoid to take risks when Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are potentially making comebacks in the next twelve months.
Crawford will be making his HBO Pay-Per-View debut on July 23rd, when he faces WBO champion Viktor Postol (28-0, 12KOs) in a unification at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Mayweather has been teasing at the possibility of a ring return and a lot of fighters are still holding on to their undefeated records because they hope to get selected by Mayweather, or Pacquiao who may fight one more time.
Crawford is separating himself from the pack. He feels that his career doesn't need a Pacquiao or a Mayweather to continue rising up in the ranks, but he does want to face some of the other big names.
"Of course [guys still hoping for Mayweather or Pacquiao makes it hard to get top names]. You have some guys that just don't want to fight you and that makes it hard to get to where you want to go, because you need a big name - you need a name that's going to drive you to the next level as the next superstar. So if you don't get the likes of a Pacquiao or a Mayweather, then you need the next step below them to take you to the next level," Crawford told Sports Illustrated.
"Me personally.. I'm young. I don't feel like I need Pacquiao or Mayweather. I still have a lot of boxing left in front of me and I feel that I can make my own legacy and my own path without those guys if I never fought them. So a guy in my area right now, where I'm standing, is in a great position."