Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Terence “Bud” Crawford (25-0-0, 17 KOs) proved everything there was to prove fighting at lightweight in 2014.
First, he won the WBO title when he outpointed Ricky Burns in Burns’ home country of Scotland.
Then Crawford defended it twice, once in Ring Magazine’s Fight of the Year, when he knocked out skilled Cuban boxer, Yuriorkis Gamboa. Then again in November when he beat No. 1 contender Ray Beltran.
Both fights were in front of a sold out arena in Crawford’s home town of Omaha, Nebraska.
After the Beltran fight, Crawford made it clear he would be moving up to 140 pounds. He’d vacate his lightweight title to join a super lightweight division that is stacked with top contenders and possible exciting matchups.
Let’s look at some potential opponents for Terence Crawford at 140 pounds.
3. Mauricio Herrera
(21-5-0, 7 KOs)
Photo by David Becker/Getty Images
Yes, I understand Mauricio Herrera lost two out of three of his fights in 2014. His first loss was against lineal super lightweight champion Danny Garcia in March, then to young gun Jose Benavidez in December. Ironically he looked very good in both losses.
In fact, many boxing fans and writers had Herrera winning both of those fights only to be robbed on the scorecards.
This would be a good first test for Terence Crawford at 140 pounds. Herrera is a tough-as-nails, straight-ahead boxer who’ll grind with Crawford, but lacks real threatening knockout power.
Crawford’s defense is much sharper than that of Garcia or Benavidez. He’d be able to turn out of tough situations against Herrera, keeping himself off the ropes and out of corners.
It’s reasonable to imagine this fight being similar to his contest with Beltran, superior defense and boxing from the outside being the factor.
It’s a bit of a safe play, but would serve as a great learning tool for Crawford and a win would certainly earn him some respect moving forward in the super lightweight division.
2. Jessie Vargas
(26-0-0, 9 KOs)
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Jessie Vargas is coming off an impressive 2014 campaign, going 3-0 with wins over Khabib Allakhverdiev, Anton Novikov and Antonio DeMarco.
Their combined record is 79-3-1.
Somehow though, even with an undefeated record and the WBA “regular” super lightweight championship, Vargas struggles to gain respect in boxing.
Vargas is skilled, but not afraid to get mean in tough situations. Check out his fight from November against Antonio DeMarco as proof.
He’ll box and brawl, similar to Terence Crawford and that’s why this is an attractive matchup not only for Top Rank, who both fighters are under, but for the fighters themselves. It’s makeable and sneaky good, with potential for skill and action.
Vargas and trainer Roy Jones Jr. have been vocal about wanting a fight with Manny Pacquiao and a win over Crawford could get them just that.
As for Crawford, taking Vargas’ undefeated record would be a great first statement at super lightweight and could also line him up for a potential end of the year fight with the superstar Filipino.
1. Chris Algieri
(20-1-0, 8 KOs)
Photo by Ed Mulholland
It’s quite possible that Chris Algieri could be Crawford’s quickest path to a super lightweight belt.
Algieri was stripped of his WBO title the night he took on Pacquiao at the Venetian in Macau, China. Algieri was put in his place, losing nearly every round while being knocked down six times.
When Crawford vacated his WBO lightweight title to move up, he was automatically put in a position to compete for that vacated WBO super lightweight title.
If Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov agree to fight each other in March, it’s possible that the WBO could order Terence Crawford and Chris Algieri to fight for the vacant title, and the winner of Matthysse-Provodnikov would be the mandatory.
This is a very juicy matchup for Crawford, although Algieri got his doors blown off by Pacquiao, he received recognition just being in the fight. He also has impressive wins over Emmanuel Taylor and Provodnikov on his resume.
It would certainly be a highly skilled affair, but one that Crawford could handle confidently. Algieri showed he can box against Provodnikov, but has looked very hittable in recent fights. Also like Herrera and Vargas, Algieri lacks knockout power.
Both men are tall and long for super lightweights, but Crawford’s strength and ability to brawl could be the difference in a fight like this.
I could see Crawford frustrating Algieri with his superior skill, forcing Algieri to mix it up, where he’d be open to be stopped by Crawford, who is arguably boxing at a higher level at this point.
Who do you think Terence Crawford should fight next? Please feel free to discuss in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
Header photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
