'2 Days: Terence Crawford' Premieres Tonight On HBO
By Jake Donovan
It's only fitting that an epic five-week stretch of boxing coverage from cable giant HBO begins with the standout fighter from the past 12 months. Unbeaten lightweight king Terence Crawford returns to the ring on April 18—his first fight following a 2014 Fighter of the Year campaign—as he faces Thomas Dulorme in a scheduled 12-round junior welterweight scrap in Arlington, Texas.
The bout is part of a split-site doubleheader that serves of the first of five consecutive weekends in which HBO showcases several of the biggest names in the sport. Preceding the coverage is an exclusive showcase on Crawford, as HBO presents '2 Days: Terence Crawford'.
The documentary-style series premieres tonight (Monday, 10:15 p.m. ET/PT) on its flagship station and will run throughout the next two weeks on its accompanying networks leading up to his upcoming showdown with Dulorme.
Crawford (25-0, 17KOs) had a breakout year in 2014, scoring wins over Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo Beltran. The win over Burns took place on the road in Glasgow, Scotland, resulting in his first major title win.
It was his thrilling 9th round knockout of Gamboa, however, that forced the boxing world stand up and take notice. Crawford brought the cameras to his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, the first time in its 40-plus years in the industry that HBO presented live boxing from the area.
The occasion was memorable enough for all parties involved to hope to catch lightning in a bottle. While Crawford's encore performance—a 12-round win over Beltran last November—didn't quite resonate as much with the general audience, his two hometown appearances managed to draw upwards of 22,000 fans.
The win over Beltran also netted Crawford the vacant World lineal lightweight championship. It was also enough in the eyes of many—including the Boxing Writer's Association of America—to claim Crawford as 2014's top fighter.
Crawford will officially sever all ties with the lightweight division, moving up to 140 lbs. for his forthcoming headliner with Dulorme. The bout is paired with another at the weight, as Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov prepare for a 12-round war, also on HBO via split-site feed from Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
The April 18 telecast is the first of five Saturdays in which HBO places its brand on a major boxing event. The network's upcoming schedule is as follows:
- April 18— Crawford-Dulorme/Matthysse-Provodnikov split-site doubleheader
- April 25— Wladimir Klitschko vs. Bryant Jennings World heavyweight championships
- May 2— Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (joint PPV effort with Showtime)
- May 9— Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez vs. James Kirkland, marking Alvarez' network return
- May 16— Gennady Golovkin and Róman Gonzalez appearing in separate showcases
HBO '2 Days' Air Times:
HBO:
4/6 (10:15 p.m.), 4/9 (5:30 p.m. & 12:35 a.m.), 4/12 (1:15 p.m.), 4/13 (8:15 a.m.), 4/15 (1:45 p.m. & 10:15 p.m.), 4/17 (2:00 a.m. & 7:15 p.m.) and 4/18 (8:45 a.m.)
HBO2:
4/8 (11:50 a.m. & 8:00 p.m.), 4/10 (2:40 a.m. & 4:30 p.m.), 4/11 (10:05 a.m.), 4/14 (3:30 p.m.), 4/17 (11:00 p.m.) and 4/18 (4:30 p.m.)
HBO Latino:
April 6 (10:15 p.m.), 4/9 (5:30 p.m.), 4/12 (1:15 p.m.), 4/13 (8:15 a.m.), 4/15 (1:45 p.m. & 9:45 p.m.), 4/17 (2:25 a.m.) and 4/18 (8:45 a.m.).
“2 Days” will also be available on the HBO On Demand® service, HBO GO® and at www.hbo.com/boxing as well as various other new media platforms that distribute the series.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
