Due to the size disparity and the quality of opponents he has faced at 140 compared to what he will face at 147 idk. He will be in there with guys who are just as bog, stronger, and are not afraid to let their hands go. All the top guys have chins and so I don't see any KO's. We are going to have to wait and see
I think a decent foray into the division would be to acclimatize with the Pacquaio-Horn II winner, Mattheyse and Vargas all in 2018 and then hopefully by 2019 Garcia-Porter and Spence-Thurman have happened so by then we'd be 1-2 fights away from all 4 belts on the line, a mega fight and Crawford would be used to the weight division by then.
No need to rush into things because he's young and for Thurman-Spence they deserve to get maximum $$ out of a challenge like Bud and for now they are all building their brands and legacies.
However if he fought any of the top guys at 147 next I'd put him as a firm favorite with Spence being the hardest fight. I think Thurman would actually be fairly easy.
I really want to see Crawford vs Thurman. I'm a fan of both, and that is the fight at 147 that I'm itching for. I think Bud can handle everyone at 147. Thurman fought his way to the top spot and has proven himself. Although I would like to see him change up trainers and evolve his game a bit. I think his athleticism, power, and counter punching ability can be better with the right trainer.
I'd like to see him warm to the division a little before facing the real top ranked guys.
Peterson, Lucas, Vargas he would all beat and are good indicators. He'd beat Horn and at this stage Pacquiao should hang them up.
I wouldn't mind seeing him go straight into a D.Garcia fight, he'd win that IMO.
For me he needs to fight ThurmAn or Spence
Maybe Danny Garcia /Porter
If not then It isn't worth much
Vargas , Matthysse , and the Horn / Pac winner don't cut it expect proves Bud is a top 5 WW.
He should fight someone like Amir Khan first, or maybe just grab the belts from the Horn-Pac winner. I think all three of those are winnable fights.
Hold off fighting the likes of Spence, Thurman, Garcia etc for a little while.
I'd like to see Crawford take on Danny Garcia. A fight between them two at 140 would've been dope.
I'd also like to see how Crawford handles a rough rugged style like Shawn Porter.
Another name that would be interesting would be a fight with Jessie Vargas before he eyes one of the top tier guys like Pac,Thurman,Spence, etc.