Crawford: I'm Looking Forward to Going After Second Title

By Jake Donovan

Don’t let the past couple of years fool you; Terence Crawford is primed and ready for the 140 lb. division. It’s a lesson he plans to teach Thomas Dulorme when the two collide April 18 in Arlington, Texas.

The unbeaten fighting pride of Omaha, Neb. is coming off of a career-best year—one for which he has been recognized by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) as 2014 Fighter of the Year. His three wins on the year included: traveling to Scotland to wrest a lightweight belt from the grasp of long-reigning titlist Ricky Burns; a 9th round knockout of Yuriorkis Gamboa in one of the year’s best fights; and a 12-round decision over Ray Beltran to claim the vacant World lightweight crown.

The latter two bouts took place in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The win over Gamboa marked the first time ever that HBO— which has aired Crawford’s last two bouts in addition to his forthcoming clash with Dulorme—traveled to Omaha in its 40-plus years of covering the sport.

All three of his fights in 2014 have taken place at lightweight, as has the majority of his career. There have been exceptions, most notably his HBO debut in March ’13, when he accepted a last-minute assignment versus Breidis Prescott. The fight required his momentarily abandoning the 135 lb. division to move up to junior welterweight (140 lbs.), a weight seemingly more befitting his 5’8” frame.

Crawford won the fight by decision, but soon returned to lightweight where he has won five straight contests. Last year’s win over Beltran came with the pre-fight disclaimer that he was in fact ready to add weight and conquer a new crop of fighters.

“I've been at 140 before against Prescott and I am looking forward to going after my second title in a different weight class,” Crawford declared during Thursday’s press conference. The lightweight king and all parties involved the promotion—including Top Rank, and Dulorme and his promoter Gary Shaw—braved severe weather conditions running rampant through the South and Northeastern United States to attend the session, formally announcing their upcoming HBO-televised clash.

Additional motivation comes with moving back up in weight this time around, as the vacant WBO 140 lb. will be at stake. The bout will mark the first career title shot for Dulorme (22-1, 14KOs), who is coming off of a 10-round win over Hank Lundy last December, which also aired live on HBO.

Overall, Dulorme has won six straight. His lone loss took place at welterweight, as he was stopped in seven rounds by Luis Carlos Abregu in an ill-advised trip up the scales. Heading into this fight, the visiting Puerto Rican boxer will serve as one of Crawford’s biggest opponents to date.

It’s a challenge the rising young star willingly embraces.

“This fight’s gonna be fun. I can already tell. He think he'll be the bigger, stronger guy, he's not,” Crawford promises. “I look forward to having my hand raised. It's going to be a great fight whomever you support, myself or Thomas.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox