By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Terence Crawford understands Viktor Postol’s reluctance to fight Crawford in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Crawford never actually asked to have their junior welterweight showdown in Omaha, but Postol’s handlers made it clear that they wanted to face Crawford in neutral territory. They’ll fight July 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (HBO Pay-Per-View).
“I didn’t ask him to come to me,” Crawford said. “I didn’t care where we fought at. He wasn’t fighting in his hometown and I wasn’t fighting in mine. We weren’t fighting in Ukraine and we weren’t fighting in Omaha. So it didn’t matter where we fought at.”
Crawford credited Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) for taking that stance because he, too, is an undefeated 140-pound world champion (WBC).
“I agreed with it,” Crawford said. “He has a right to say that. He’s a world champion. I’m a world champion. And he has a right to be like, ‘Why would I go to his hometown to fight, when we’re not fighting in my hometown?’ I don’t mind. I don’t mind going to Vegas to fight. I don’t mind going to New York to fight. I don’t mind going to L.A. to fight. As long as there’s a ring, it’s a fight.”
The 28-year-old Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs), the WBO super lightweight champion, fought three times in Omaha during a 16-month period in 2014 and 2015. The former WBO lightweight champion made it clear, though, that he isn’t dependent upon fighting in his hometown. He drew crowds in excess of 10,000 for each of his three fights at CenturyLink Center in downtown Omaha, thus it made business sense to keep fighting there.
“I’ve done fought in Vegas,” Crawford said. “I’ve fought all over the world. I only fought in Omaha three times in my whole professional career. A lot of people looked at the turnouts and said, ‘Oh, all he wants to do is fight in Omaha.’ I’ll fight anywhere.
“They promised me a fight in Omaha once I won the world championship at lightweight. And I held them to it. I demanded to fight in Omaha against Gamboa. They saw the turnout and they wanted to come back again. So it’s not my fault I’ve got a big support system in Omaha, and certain fighters don’t have that in their hometowns.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
