If there was any question that Terence Crawford (30-0, 22 KOs) is running out of options at Jr. Welterweight, tonight made it clear as he routed Feliz Diaz (19-2, 9 KOs) in a brutal, one-sided beating that was stopped at the end of the tenth round.
The fight went like a typical Crawford bout. For the first few rounds, things seemed competitive. Diaz and Crawford exchanged at points and Crawford took a few shots he clearly didn’t see coming. But as the rounds went on, the Nebraskan adjusted, eventually settling into a game plan that gave Diaz no options but to swing for the fences. Diaz, not being a big puncher, couldn’t rely on this backup option for long.
Over the course of the fight, Crawford punished Diaz for throwing looping shots and eventually took to humiliating the former Olympian, simply tapping on his forehead mockingly instead of throwing jabs.
“It’s a fight – you can’t be nice in there. My dad taught me as a little kid to be mean in there. You can’t go in there and play around,” said Crawford.
There was no variety to the rounds and very little showmanship on Crawford’s part. Referee Steve Willis lambasted him when he began the mocking antics–why mock a man who is so clearly unable to win?
At the end of the tenth, trainer Joel Diaz waved the white towel and made Willis call a halt to the fight.
When the smoke had cleared, Crawford was already making plans for his next opponents and or stoppage victims. Among the names thrown around were Manny Pacquiao and Julius Indongo.
“Pacquiao – that’s the only fight out there I’m looking for. Indango came to my fight – where is he? If he is here I am ready to fight him also,” said Crawford.
Should Crawford opt to fight Indongo, he would have an opportunity to have all of the major belts at the 140-pound limit.
