Cody Crowley came to Las Vegas six years ago searching for the types of opportunities prizefighters so often have found in the unofficial “Boxing Capital of the World.”
Now that the undefeated Canadian welterweight has signed with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, Crowley is closer than ever to landing a high-profile fight that can change the course of his career. The 27-year-old Crowley (19-0, 9 KOs) made his PBC debut September 6, when he shut out New Mexico’s Josh Torres (22-7-2, 13 KOs, 1 NC) on all three scorecards in a 10-rounder FS1 televised from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Five of Crowley’s previous seven fights were contested in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario, about a 90-minute drive from Toronto. Crowley did everything from selling tickets to setting up chairs inside Memorial Centre, and often didn’t know until after he fought in a main event whether he actually would make a profit from his exhaustive efforts.
“I had my promotional company, promoting back in Canada, trying to do everything, as much as I could, on my own,” Crowley told BoxingScene.com. “But I couldn’t get that exposure. I couldn’t get that big money behind me, to get the type of opponents I want. And now, signing with PBC, you look at their roster, you’ve got the best welterweights in the world all right there – other than one of them, [Terence] Crawford over at Top Rank. But you’ve got all the welterweights. We should all be fighting each other. I want the real fights.”
The fight Crowley wants at the moment is one against Adrien Broner. The four-division champion is tentatively scheduled to return to the ring January 16 in a bout Showtime would televise, but he hasn’t chosen an opponent.
Crowley could be just the type of foe Broner wants for what would be his first fight in nearly two years – an unbeaten but unproven fringe contender who isn’t considered a huge puncher. The polarizing Broner obviously brings everything Crowley wants to the proverbial table, most importantly a chance to legitimize himself.
“That is the fight that I want,” said Crowley, who is ranked 10th by the WBA. “I want PBC to know one thing, also – it is time to cut their losses with Adrien Broner. He had his time, but now it’s my time. It’s time to show everyone how a true champion actually carries himself inside and outside of the ring. PBC has given Adrien too many chances, they’ve given him too much money and too much respect. In my opinion, he’s a disgrace to boxing and what it stands for.
“I think he needs to be eliminated, and I believe I’m the one to rid PBC of this headache. It’s time for the next generation of welterweights to step up. I’m ready for this challenge and any other challenges PBC wants to place in front of me. I believe the best fit for that right now is Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner. Let’s cut the losses and get ‘The Problem’ out of the picture.”
A confident Crowley feels he would overwhelm Broner (33-4-1, 24 KOs, 1 NC) with pressure and volume punching, traits for which he has become known while sparring at gyms throughout Las Vegas, including numerous rounds with Floyd Mayweather. Crowley would expect the 31-year-old Broner’s penchant for not letting his hands go to cost the Cincinnati native if they fight, much the way it did during his lopsided loss to Manny Pacquiao in Broner’s last appearance – a 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat in January 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“He’s got an AK-47 right there, ready for his opponents, when they come at him,” Crowley said. “But the guy can’t pull the trigger. He never fires it. Look at how delusional he was against Manny Pacquiao. You’ve got your whole, entire team telling you to let your hands go and you say, ‘Nah, I won that fight. I won that fight.’ This guy is straight delusional, and I believe it’s a disgrace for boxing. You have all these fans that paid all this money, their hard-earned money, to watch you fight this barnburner against one of the greats, Manny Pacquiao, and you go and lose, and you don’t even have the pride inside you to take your hat off to Manny? You try and rob these people again by saying, ‘I won! I won! I won!’ That leaves even more of a bitter taste in people’s mouths about you. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
