Comments Thread For: Crawford Laments Lost Opportunity After Horn Upsets Pacquiao

[elfag]

I don't think Pacquiao wanted to fight Crawford. In fact, I think he was solely responsible for choosing Horn. That's the only way I can see him losing a decision to Horn. I can't imagine Arum would put him in the position where he would lose the way he did.

How would he choose horn when he probably never heard of him?

First he wanted to fight khan and arum nixed that because khan isnt an arum fighter.

[-DSG-]

You waited to long to move up and fight the big boys!

[Sheldon312]

You waited to long to move up and fight the big boys!

But he's at 140 though and close to 30. If this is what P4 looks like, boxing is dead then.

[TheCell8]

not a good sign if for TR...

[Bronx2245]

Because of risk and reward.

Because of whose risk? Because of whose reward? Postol was a high-risk, low-reward fight! Felix Diaz was a high-risk, low reward fight! Indongo is a high-risk, low-reward fight! On the other hand, Vargas is a low-risk, high-reward fight! Khan is a low-risk, high-reward fight! Horn is a low-risk, high-reward fight! Broner is a high-risk, super-reward fight! Bob needs to treat TC like he's the future and the star of Top Rank, with Lomachenko running a close second! His coming out party should've been Pacquiao vs. Crawford, live from Las Vegas, on ESPN! Instead, he just watched his dream disappear on Saturday night! That's ****ed up! However, Bob still has a chance at redemption! Get TC a fight with the winner of Broner vs. Garcia @ 140! ESPN will love it, the fighters will love it, and the fans will love it! Make it happen!

[-Antonio-]

Terrence leave arum asap. Led you on for years promising to make the manny fight when he knows deep down he had no intention of doing that. Should move to haymons stable at least he'll have a ton of good match ups there. If he's not going to fight pac or even Bradley what's the point in staying with bob?

That would be crazy. Crawford is about to fight on ESPN. He is going to get a ton of exposure. Trust me the winner of Pac/Horn will fight Crawford.

[Fabes88]

He had every intention of making the fight. It's just his matchmakers told him Pacquiao would still beat Crawford last year, so he wanted to wait until it was a guarantee that Crawford would win, otherwise he would lose his next star to an old Pacquiao and the money making ability would not get passed on to his next generation the way he planned it to.

I think Pacquiao's part time training also complicated things. Roach probably didn't want that fight until the right time of year when Pacquiao would be able to take a break from his Senator duties and train full time. Additionally Pacquiao wanted his normal 20 mil plus, and Crawford is not from Australia so where was Bob going to get that money for a Pacquiao-Crawford fight when Crawford has refused to fight the big names at 147 so far and thus has no fanbase or star power to bring to a pay-per-view?

The way it's supposed to work is the young guy also brings something to the pay-per-view so it's worth the old guy's while to fight a young lion despite him being way past his prime. Pacquiao earned the Oscar fight that made him a superstar by being willing to fight Erik Morales three times and go to war, fight Barrera and Marquez twice each and go to war both times.

Meanwhile with Terence, he refused to go up to 147 and fight guys of that caliber to build a fanbase with great 50-50 fights like Pacquiao did, and then at 140, almost every time Bob set him up with a great opportunity to build a fanbase even against B-level guys, like the Postol unification, Terence fought the most conservative fights I've ever seen anyone fight and refused to get in exchanges and create action to bring fans to his side the way Pacquiao did coming up and GGG has done recently as well. It's no surprise those guys gained huge followings and Terence has not.

Terence wanted to wait around, fight a bunch of B-level guys, refuse to even exchange with the B-level guys, and then just walk into a Pacquiao fight for no other reason than Arum is his promoter and he felt entitled. Nah man when you're not willing to do any of the things other boxers have done to actually create a fanbase, then it's really hard for you to get pay-per-view opponents. Pay-per-views require fans who want to buy your fights. Why should Pacquiao fight Crawford for short money at the end of his career? It's Crawford's job to make 50-50 fights, and make entertaining fights, to gain a big enough following where the financials make sense for a Pacquiao-Crawford PPV.

But Crawford never did that, and I think that's another reason the Pacquiao-Crawford fight did not come off last year. Crawford's inability to build a fanbase as quickly as Arum hoped set the schedule back a year or two, and Pacquiao lost in the meantime. You can hardly blame Arum for that. If Crawford had fought Thurman, Brook, and Spence two or three times each by now like he should have done, like Pacquiao did with Morales, Marquez, and Barrera, then he would have been a much bigger name by now, and Pacquiao-Crawford would have been viable as a big HBO PPV last year and Bob would have made it. Beating those guys also would have convinced Bob's matchmakers that Crawford wasn't at risk of losing to Pacquiao if they made the fight that soon.

Instead, Crawford's only wins of note are against a way smaller Gamboa, Lamont Peterson's leftovers Felix Diaz, and the Andrzej Fonfara of the junior welterweight division Victor Postol (just with even worse power and chin), and he has the fanbase you would expect someone with that level of opposition to have. And in every fight but the Gamboa fight he has created no action at all, just tons of movement and potshotting. Maybe that works to your advantage if you are trying to create a fanbase of haters who want to see you lose and you go full heel, but if you are actually trying to make fans who like you, that's not going to do that.

Crawford has not turned full heel, so he's not making enough noise in that regard to attract legions of haters, but he's not making enough noise in terms of excitement in the ring, or at least high level of opposition, to bring in legions of fans, either. Some of the blame for that has to go on him.

I don't think he had every intention of making the fight. They said in the fall originally but then last week they were talking up fighting some no name in the phillipines instead.

I don't think he's as conservative as you're making out. His clinical boxer-puncher style is enjoyable to the majority of boxing fans not everyone has to fight like gatti.

Im sorry but your argument that he should've fought Thurman porter or spence three times now is ridiculous. Spence hasn't even fought either of them and they're at the same weight. He's had no reason to "test himself against welterweights" yet he's fighting at 140 for now that's his division. Pac has been saying for years he can make that weight easy then why not prove it? It's all well and good saying Crawford needs to earn the fight but he's done more than rios, algeri, Vargas and horn. No one was saying they need to earn the fight so why does Crawford?

Personally I enjoy watching Crawford and I think a lot of people feel the same. The notion of him being boring is strange to me. Him against pac would've been the chance to turn him into a star but I guess it's going to have to happen some other way now.

If you're so adamant he should move to 147 you should be in agreement that he should sign with haymon as all the best welterweights are there and haymon and arum don't work together very often.

[Fabes88]

That would be crazy. Crawford is about to fight on ESPN. He is going to get a ton of exposure. Trust me the winner of Pac/Horn will fight Crawford.

I see your point but if I was him I'd be salty as ****. If he's not giving me the best fights I may as well go somewhere that will

[Butch.McRae]

Do you really think Crawford isnt doing what he wants? Do you really think Thurman and Spence are big $$$ fights? If so you are delusional. Crawford has a chance at becoming a true UNDISPUTED champ, something that has been done VERY rare in boxing history and theres been even fewer adding the WBO title. Crawfords building his own brand. Crawford moves up as the Jr. Welterweight Undisputed champ, hes the A-side against Thurman and Spence or Horny.

Crawford has reached his peak at TR with the current landscape. It's not that those other guys offer buckets of cash, but it he could beat them his rep would explode with fans. Being undisputed at Jr. WW doesn't mean much of anything to the paying public. Jermaine Taylor was never a draw.

TC already has an elite legacy in boxing, but at this point it's about money and getting that crossover fight. Manny was that fight for him, now Jeff Horn's name is more well known amongst spenders. It's ****ed up.

And those guys have no reason to fight him without that WBO belt. He's not getting those fights now. Unless it's forced by Haymon and that won't happen. We'll see a contract dispute very soon with TC and Top Rank.

[Sheldon312]

Crawford has reached his peak at TR with the current landscape. It's not that those other guys offer buckets of cash, but it he could beat them his rep would explode with fans. Being undisputed at Jr. WW doesn't mean much of anything to the paying public. Jermaine Taylor was never a draw.

TC already has an elite legacy in boxing, but at this point it's about money and getting that crossover fight. Manny was that fight for him, now Jeff Horn's name is more well known amongst spenders. It's ****ed up.

And those guys have no reason to fight him without that WBO belt. He's not getting those fights now. Unless it's forced by Haymon and that won't happen. We'll see a contract dispute very soon with TC and Top Rank.

How and the fighters he has fought weren't that great? I don't see a Thurman, Garcia, Porter, Broner, Spence, Brook on his resume.