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Terence Crawford Dominates Viktor Postol Over 12 Rounds

On Saturday, July 23, 2016, Terence Crawford remained undefeated, grabbing the WBC title from Viktor Postol in impressive fashion.

Photo by Will Hart

You’ll hear the complaints soon enough. “Crawford ran and hugged.” “Postol isn’t even a good fighter in the first place.”

This is the age of Twitter and every boxing fan has an opinion, and most of them are wrong. Whether the UFC-raised viewers who lack the attention span for a 12-round bout liked Terence Crawford vs. Viktor Postol is irrelevant.

Crawford beat the No. 1 ranked contender for the lineal 140-pound crown and made a good fighter look mediocre at best in the process.

Two flash knockdowns, which came in the fifth round, weren’t even needed for Crawford to claim victory over the Ukrainian, Postol. Crawford took away Postol’s jab from the opening bell and it became clear that the lanky European had no plan B.

“I just stuck to what I knew—boxing,” said Crawford.

Postol was shut down for a major portion of the fight as Crawford’s switch to the southpaw stance made it nearly impossible for Postol to land his usually bazooka-like jab.

“They said [Postol] had the best jab in the division,” he said. “I proved differently today.”

While criticisms against Crawford seem to stem from him having control of the fight and not knocking Postol out, Postol’s awkward, rangy style was one that had yet to be figured out as both fighters went into the bout with 28-0 records.

Crawford not only figured Postol out, but made him look silly. Ultimately, it appeared that Postol’s range and his composure while hurt were able to prevent Crawford from burying him.

Crawford, after this victory, appears to be a fighter willing to take high-risk fights that provide little financial kickback if they help improve his growing legacy.

“Everybody said I was scared or running from [Postol],” said Crawford. “That wasn’t true. We wanted the fight. We asked for the fight.”

Having cleared out the 140-pound division, Crawford is expected to face Manny Pacquiao next. Both are under the Top Rank promotional banner, and if Bob Arum is able to coerce the aging Pacquiao into the ring with Crawford, it would be another major name on a resume that is now rapidly improving.

When asked about the fight, Crawford simply said, “I’m a fighter. I’ll fight anybody.”

Header photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank

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