By Keith Idec
Terence Crawford thinks he deserves “Fighter of the Year” awards for the second time in three years.
Crawford sent out a Tweet on Tuesday that states: Terence Crawford 2016 Fighter Of The Year!!!! Yeah that sounds about right to me. What you think?
The 29-year-old Crawford went 3-0 this year, including a dominant unanimous-decision victory over previously unbeaten Ukrainian Viktor Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) in their 12-round, 140-pound championship unification fight July 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs) won his two other fights in 2016 by technical knockout.
He toyed with his opponents in each of those two bouts, but the fact that Hank Lundy and John Molina Jr. were considered overmatched opponents could hurt Crawford’s candidacy for “Fighter of the Year” awards.
The WBC/WBO super lightweight champion stopped Philadelphia’s Lundy (26-6-1, 13 KOs) in the fifth round of their February 27 fight in The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. Crawford capped his impressive year in the ring on December 10, when he thoroughly out-classed Molina (29-7, 23 KOs), of Covina, California, on his way to an eighth-round stoppage in Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford’s hometown.
Five days after he overwhelmed Molina at CenturyLink Center, Crawford was sentenced to 90 days in jail for his role in an April 14 incident at an auto body shop in Omaha. Crawford’s attorney, Matt Kahler, has appealed what he and Crawford consider a stiff sentence for September convictions on charges of misdemeanor property damage and disorderly conduct.
Crawford was freed on $10,000 bail later that day.
However his legal predicament plays out, Crawford’s promoter, Bob Arum, will present him as a potential opponent to Manny Pacquiao when Arum visits Pacquiao in the Philippines early in January. Arum also told BoxingScene.com that Crawford or Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs), another star fighter Arum promotes, deserves to win “Fighter of the Year” awards for 2016.
Crawford was named the Boxing Writers Association of America “Fighter of the Year” for 2014.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
