Crawford/Verdejo: Top Rank Moves Forward With 2/27 Double

By Jake Donovan

With news of Manny Pacquiao moving towards a third fight with Timothy Bradley, the remainder of the candidates previously in the hunt for the coveted April 9 assignment can now move on with whatever contingency plans were in place.

For Terence Crawford, that means a headlining act in New York City.

The unbeaten two-division title claimant will appear alongside rising lightweight contender Felix Verdejo in a Feb. 27 HBO twinbill at Madison Square Garden Theatre. Top Rank confirmed to BoxingScene.com of plans for the show, which was first reported by USA Today’s Mike Coppinger.

“Terence was hoping to get the Manny Pacquiao fight and I certainly wanted it for the kid as well,” Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum told BoxingScene.com. “So now, we move forward with his career. The good news is he doesn’t have to sit around and wait for a fight. We have him and Felix Verdejo – the outstanding young star from Puerto Rico – fighting on the last weekend of February at Madison Square Garden Theatre.

“For Terence, it’s important to get him that exposure in New York City. He only fought twice in 2015 and we want to get him in the ring at least three times (in 2016). He’s a huge attraction in his hometown in Omaha (Nebraska), so now the plan is to build him up around the county and turn him into a big star.”

Crawford (27-0, 19KOS) was named by several outlets as 2014 Fighter of the Year following his storming of the lightweight division, but was forced to make lemonade in 2015. Just two fights came on the year, a pair of knockout wins over Thomas Dulorme and Dierry Jean at super lightweight.

The hope following his 10th round stoppage of Jean in October was that he could next defend his 140 lb. title versus Pacquaio, a former eight-division champ and a small welterweight who flirted with the idea of dropping back down in weight. The wildly popular southpaw from Philippines had a brief stay at super lightweight, knocking out Ricky Hatton in two rounds in May ’09, claiming the lineal championship in what many view as among the most spectacular performances in his Hall of Fame-bound career.

Alas, the decision was made to stay at welterweight in looking to break the tie with Bradley, as they both hold one win apiece in their rivalry dating back to 2012. Win, lose or draw, Pacquiao has suggested the fight will be his last as he plans to make a run for a Senate seat in Philippines, with the election due to take place in May.

Should those plans hold true, Crawford will have missed out on his chance to get a crack at the legendary boxer. The hope among his team and particularly the Top Rank brass is that 2016 becomes a year in which his notoriety catches up to – and perhaps surpasses – his supreme physical talent.

Key to those plans is keeping the 28-year old boxer active.

“It’s very important that he fights in the first quarter of 2016,” notes Arum. “We don’t want a repeat of 2015, even though he looked spectacular in both fights. We want him to fight at least twice on HBO, perhaps even three times and then maybe the final fight of 2016 as a Pay-Per-View headliner, depending who we can get to fight him.

“Terence is a major talent and we will continue to develop him as a major talent with star potential. We really believe he can reach superstar status. Having him appear in New York City along with Verdejo is essential to those plans, so we will move forward with finalizing details for that show.”

Opponents are still being secured for both fighters as this goes to publish.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox