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Boxing Insider Interview with Terence Crawford
By: Francisco Martinez
July 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada a unification bout is set to take place and the winner is to be considered the best 140 pounder in boxing along with a good push up the pound for pound rankings. Terence Crawford perceived by many as the next big thing in boxing now that Floyd Mayweather Jr. & Manny Pacquiao have retired (for the time being) hosted a media day at the famed Fortune Boxing Gym in Hollywood BoxingInsider was preparing to talk to Crawford alongside two Filipino media news members whom also awaited their turn and as Crawford approached us he looked to his left to get a quick glimpse of the 2 individuals waiting to get their turn.
P.R. guy of Manny Pacquiao fame Fred Sternburg informed Terence Crawford that the two individuals waiting for their turn were reporters from the Philippines and as Crawford smiled Sternburg ask him “guess what they’re gonna ask you?” Crawford just smiled it off. So BoxingInsider ask Crawford to play a game of wild guess “take a wild guess, what would they ask you?” and Crawford replied “am I interested in fighting Pacquiao…” we asked “Are you?” he said “Not right now”.
Terence Crawford responded to all media members with the exact same answer. His focus is on Viktor Postol and nothing else. The replies are genuine, Terence Crawford is not overlooking Postol. Rightfully so as Postol if we recall correctly is the first time Crawford is facing someone who’s attributes favor him from height to reach. Something new for Crawford to overcome.
BoxingInsider: Has it set in that you’re headlining your first PPV already?
Terence Crawford: Yeah but I don’t really look at it like that. I just look at it as a main event. I don’t look at it as I’m fighting on HBO PPV and it’s something different because at the end of the day it’s all the same. You still got to get in that squared circle and fight.
BoxingInsider: What do you think he brings to the table that’s going to complicate things for you?
Terence Crawford: I don’t know, I don’t know. I really can’t say because I’ve never been in the ring with him. So it’s hard to go in there blind thinking he might do this, he might do that and he doesn’t even do it or he’s not affective doing it, so I don’t know.
Terence Crawford is aware the winner will not only become the unified 140 pound champion but will be considered the best at 140lbs “You got the one and two (top fighters) you got the lineal title on the line, the W.B.C. with the W.B.O. so it’s a lot at stake” also expresses becoming the unified Jr. Welterweight champion “means a lot. It’s what we’ve been working hard towards…”
BoxingInsider: Do you reflect a little bit on how far you’ve come from (your hometown of) Omaha, Nebraska?
Terence Crawford: I think about it a lot from when I was little I always said I wanted to be a world champion. I wanted to be the best boxer and now that it’s becoming a reality it makes me work that much harder to continue to be that world champion boxer that I’m destined to be.
As Top Rank promotions president, The Godfather of boxing Bob Arum spilled the beans on Manny Pacquiao’s return being more than possible although the gig outside of the ring will be one to make things a little complicated in the sense of when Manny Pacquiao can return and in what weight division as Arum expressed that the return has to coincide with Pacquiao’s senator position in the Phillipines without disrupting his political duties to his country.
With a win Terence Crawford finds himself in the mix for an opportunity against the 8 division world champion as he did in what was considered Manny Pacquiao’s 3rd and final career fight with Timothy Bradley Jr. Bob Arum has stated October, 29th & November, 5th as possible return dates for Manny Pacquiao. Although Crawford finds himself in the mix again and is aware of it he doesn’t think much of it “I’m not worried about it. I don’t even think about it being that I’m not fighting him. I’m fighting Viktor Postol so that’s my main priority right now. I’m not worried about if Pacquiao is coming back or who he’s gonna fight next. That’s his business, that’s not my business yet. Until we got a contract signed saying we fighting then that’s when it’ll be my business. I’m not even worried or thinking about Pacquiao”
July, 23rd on HBO PPV Terence Crawford vs Viktor Postol is set to take place in a unification bout between to primed fighters. Something that we rarely see in boxing nowadays. Use #CrawfordPostol to follow all our coverage of the fight throughout social media.
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