Crawford's last 3 opponents have been:
Dierry Jean
Thomas Dulorme
Raymundo Beltran
These guys aren't bums, very solid contenders who had a shot to win (including Jean), but they are nothing to brag about. None of these guys are former World Champions and more importantly none have ever beaten a name.
This time he is fighting a "fringe" contender in Hank Lundy who is worse than all 4 and has defeats to Dulorme and Beltran. For someone being built as a superstar, what do you make of such underwhelming opposition?
Thoughts?
Lightweight run was solid: Burns, Beltran, Gamboa and became the true champion of the division. 140 run has been lackluster so far but I expect it to improve at some point. They are going after the right fighters just have to get them in the ring.
Solid list of guys, not top but contenders so im not mad. Hes in the stage of possibly being ducked so i wouldnt expect a massive year for him. I think he will breakout in 2017 against a top named guy.
Hopefully after he gets through Lundy we will get to see him against Mattysse or Postol then build him vs Broner next year. Still think he needs to work on his defense, leaves himself open alot recently.
Beltran was a good win, but since then he's on now a disappointing 3 fight stretch. Jean and Dulorme are fine, but now Lundy? That's too many less than stellar fights in a row. He really needs a top flight opponent at 140 after this.
Postol Reveals Terence Crawford Refused To Fight Him
If you look at the timing of this, Arum made the decision to have Postol take on Matthysse for the title, instead of pitting his two fighters against each other where only one can emerge as the champ. It seemed to work out in both parties favor. Postol beat Matthysse in an upset and got a title in the process, and we got to see Crawford beat that ever living hell out of Jean who is a tough out for any junior welter.
These two will match up later in the year IMO.
If he would have planned on Lundy from the start I would understand the complaints but he thought he had a real chance at fighting Manny. MANNY. I mean it don't get any bigger than that. It's not Bud's fault that fight didn't happen. Also apparently Postol wanted to wait to fight him and Ruslan/Herrera wanted to fight each other again. The Lundy fight is a mismatch but hopefully it's only being made to keep Bud on somewhat of a schedule and his next fight will be against a step up since they will have more time to plan for it.
Crawford has made a living - and a reputation - off undersized opponents.
That and good matchmaking have people thinking he's better than he is.
In fact, his opposition doesn't merit the kind of respect he is getting. He'll coming crashing down soon.
It would be nice to see him in with a significant name at 140/147. He's shown that he's a cut above those mid-level contenders. But beating a name that rings out has to be the objective now. With all due respect to Hank Lundy he's not quite in that category.
Crawford's last 3 opponents have been:
Dierry Jean
Thomas Dulorme
Raymundo Beltran
These guys aren't bums, very solid contenders who had a shot to win (including Jean), but they are nothing to brag about. None of these guys are former World Champions and more importantly none have ever beaten a name.
This time he is fighting a "fringe" contender in Hank Lundy who is worse than all 4 and has defeats to Dulorme and Beltran. For someone being built as a superstar, what do you make of such underwhelming opposition?
Thoughts?
I agree, his opposition has been weak and I'd go so far as to say they didn't even have a shot at winning but TC did beat Burns, a recognised and established champ at 135 AND it's not too long ago that he stopped Gamboa, albeit an undersized Gamboa.
I think a lot of the ravings on TC, me included at times, is the fact that he has shown so many different facets to his game, there's fighting at range, fighting up close, there's the skill to win over the distance or the power to stop guys. He is also very popular and one of the few boxers in America I've seen build up a regional following, especially in recent years.
Having said that, there's a glaring omission in his game and that is a very, very poor work rate in the early rounds. Pacquiao would eat him up, Bradley would build a huge lead and Khan would overwhelm him with punches early. Crawford has to up his early punch output and I'm not sure what the issue is. May be stamina? As a lot of young fighters have that issue these days.
His LW resume is good. He was the clear no.1 by the time he left.
At JWW id class his opponents as cautious but acceptable. He isnt setting the world alight but they are ok world level fighters. Top 10-20 types.
I think they can afford to be a bit more ballsy, but they seem to trying to find the right opponent to break out against. Potentially was going to be Manny but that obviously hasn't played out. Postol and Matthysse would be very watchable/winnable/makeable fights
Only his 3rd fight at 140 what are some of these other fighter excuses who been in 1 Division for YEARS and still haven't stepped up in Competition but yet they're getting so much HYPE right now
Crawford stepped up and took Challenges like stepping up and fighting Prescott on short notice and stepping up and fighting Gamboa when Mikey Garcia wasn't interested I guess because of his Issues with Arum :dunno:
I'm seeing some at the edge of their seats waiting to jump up and start bashing Crawford :lol1: who don't see this coming. Very typical in boxing today, love you today and hate you tomorrow.
Crawford benefitted greatly from being at TR. I was hoping he and Postol would fight next. It is disappointing to see him fight what IMO is a lesser opponent tha the last 3.
I expect him to take on better opponents this year but it appears all the best 140lb guys are with Haymon.
Herrera, if doable, would be a good next fight.
Who at 140 with Haymon beats Postal?
Its not a P4P resume. I wasnt impress by the Gamboa KO since Gamboa didnt belong at that weight class and even at 140 Crawford is big so imagine at 135. He was getting outboxed pretty easily too before landing big. Hes good but I want him to be match vs someone that makes sense ASAP.
It's decent.
I was impressed with the Gamboa KO despite the size advantage.
I thought Prescott was an OK win considering it was on short notice and was at 140 when he was competing at 135 at the time.
Crawford benefitted greatly from being at TR. I was hoping he and Postol would fight next. It is disappointing to see him fight what IMO is a lesser opponent tha the last 3.
I expect him to take on better opponents this year but it appears all the best 140lb guys are with Haymon.
Herrera, if doable, would be a good next fight.
Crawford is a good boxer that has won all his fights decisively from what I can remember. I don't see that he has any superior trait that really stands out like say rapid hand speed, thudding power, or iron chin. He's not slow however, doesn't seem overly glass jawed, and he carries enough pop to turn a fight around if it lands (might not put someone out but they'll be rocked). I think when he does face a truly solid p4p boxer he will opt to engage in a firefight looking to score a knockout which he can probably pull off as opposed to a methodical boxing match. I don't think he is an easy win for anyone and I do believe that he carries the edge over Postol, Broner, and Herrera.
Provodnikov, Herrera, and Postol were all considered for this next fight, but all were not interested. In fact, Provodnikov and Herrera would rather rematch than face Bud. Hopefully he can get a name opponent next up after Lundy. He's not the type to want to avoid competition to keep that 0.
Id have like to have seen those fights.....damn man.....Bud kicks all 3 guys but....He'll get a big fight sooner or later
The 3 guys that make sense all declined to fight him. So what's he supposed to do? not fight
Postol, provodnikov, Herrera all said not right now. And the broner fight won't happen due to politics
so what's left?
Postol Reveals Terence Crawford Refused To Fight Him
I like Crawford a lot but I have to admit that I don't see the skills and the talent in him that can make him a P4P superstar, his team know his weaknesses and they're matching him carefully since he has the potential to be a star, but to me Crawford still has a lot to prove, his level opposition hasn't been all that great.
The 3 guys that make sense all declined to fight him. So what's he supposed to do? not fight
Postol, provodnikov, Herrera all said not right now. And the broner fight won't happen due to politics
so what's left?
10y ago
Thoughts on Crawford's opposition? | BoxingScene Community