Arum: Crawford Heading To Los Angeles, Provodnikov Possible

By Steve Kim

Coming off his successful debut in New York this past weekend, where Terence Crawford stopped Hank Lundy in five rounds, promoter Bob Arum now has designs of taking him out west for his next outing. One of the options Arum is considering is the former WBO champion at 140-pounds, Ruslan Provodnikov (25-4, 18KOs). 

"We want to have a fight in Los Angeles, probably at th end of June, maybe against Provodnikov,"Arum told BoxingScene.com on Monday afternoon.

For Top Rank it's part of plan to broaden the appeal of Crawford who is already a bona-fide draw in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The goal is to eventually position him for a major pay-per-view fight.

Arum explained,"We wanted to have him fight in New York, which he did and now in Los Angeles. That's the next step."

The Forum is the venue that is being discussed. Arum says he has reached out to Provodnikov's promoter, Artie Pelullo, and says there seems to be interest on their end.

Provodnikov last fought in November in Monaco and stopped unbeaten Jesus Rodriguez in six rounds.

Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.