Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
This Saturday, August 19, a true unification fight in the 140-pound division will go down in Lincoln, Nebraska at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Terence Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs) takes on Julius Indongo (22-0, 11 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout.
Crawford is the Junior Welterweight WBO, WBC, Ring Magazine and lineal division champ, while Indongo holds the WBA and IBF titles.
While Crawford is the more well-known fighter due to a series of impressive victories on HBO, Indongo should not be taken lightly. Namibia’s Indongo is coming off a notable win over Ricky Burns. Crawford always brings out a crowd and big viewing numbers on television, but this fight is even more appealing is this unique title situation.
With all of the major titles in the division on the line, the winner of this fight will be considered a true unified champion– this is nearly unheard of in this era. Saturday night, August 19, history will be made.
Crawford is undoubtedly an up-and-coming boxing superstar if you don’t already consider him to be as of now but Indongo though the lesser known fighter at least in mainstream boxing has proven to be an extremely dangerous opponent.
To shock the boxing world and become the true unified Junior Welterweight champion in Crawford’s backyard, Indongo needs these three keys to success.
1. Use Height & Reach Advantages
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Julius Indongo has two-inch advantages both in height and reach. Indongo needs to use these slight physical traits to his advantage as much as possible. Especially in the early rounds Indongo needs to set the pace of the fight keeping Terence Crawford at the end of his punches.
Indongo needs to prevent Crawford from getting on the inside because this is where Crawford lands his most devastating punches. Crawford has often come out victorious because of his ability to smother his opponents and often fluster them enough to earn stoppages and knockouts.
If Indongo can control the pace and the range, he may just be able to put that doubt and urgency in Crawford’s mind early on, throwing off his game plan.
2. Keep Up the Intensity
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In recent fights Terence Crawford has seemed to start out slow, while Julius Indongo should take full advantage of this, he needs to keep up the intensity in the later rounds as well.
Indongo should come out aggressive to win the early rounds on the scorecards but he must avoid getting fatigued. Crawford typically takes his time and feels out his opponents then eventually starts to pull away as the fight drags on.
Indongo must be smart going into this fight with full expectations that it will likely go the distance. As the fight wears on, he must make adjustments necessary to ensure he keeps up the intensity but also avoids tiring himself out.
3. Use His Awkward Southpaw Style
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Julius Indongo is known for his awkward southpaw style. Because Indongo is so awkward it will be difficult for Terence Crawford to anticipate his movements and punches.
To come out victorious, Indongo must be able to throw Crawford off.
Crawford has faced southpaws before but if Indongo can execute his awkward, scrappy style of fighting to make it difficult for Crawford to land power shots, he has a chance to come out on top on the scorecards.
Header photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
