Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Saturday, November 29, 2014, Terence Crawford returns home to Omaha, Nebraska to defend his WBO title against No. 1 contender, Ray Beltran.
Crawford looks to keep his unblemished record in tact, while Beltran looks to claim the title which he feels is rightfully his.
Before the two combatants go toe-to-toe in the ring, RBRBoxing’s Senior Writer, Lou Catalando, and Staff Writer, Lauren Pinkerton, break down the keys to victory for each man.
Read on for the head-to-head discussion and let us know who you think will win.
[yop_poll id=”89″]
Key #1 for Ray Beltran
Get in Close to Crawford–Too Close
(Cue Creepy, Maniacal Laugh)
By Lou Catalano
Earlier this year, Terence Crawford scored a fantastic knockout against Yuriorkis Gamboa, but it wasn’t without some rocky moments. He was down on the cards early, and he was hurt late in the fight before he drilled him.
Ray Beltran should make this thing an inside, dirty, Ricky Hatton-style fight. Crawford is the more talented of the two, and he has brilliant skills. If Beltran can crowd him and get him out of his comfort zone, it will give him a legitimate shot at springing the upset.
Though Beltran is rated No. 2 in the division by the Transnational Boxing Rankings, (the only legitimate ranking system in boxing at the moment) Crawford is being touted as the next big thing, with Beltran billed as the “opponent.”
Crawford handled the pressure well against the far smaller Gamboa, but let’s see if the former Manny Pacquiao sparring partner can make him wilt. It starts with Beltran crowding the Omaha native all night long.
Key #1 for Terence Crawford
Switch it Up
http://youtu.be/X-5A2hEFsjE?t=29s
By Lauren Pinkerton
One of the most frustrating obstacles an orthodox fighter faces in the ring is a southpaw that knows how to use his stance against his opponent.
I’d argue then, that the next most frustrating obstacle is fighting a switch-hitter who works just as effectively from one stance to another.
There are many things that Terence Crawford has going for him in this fight, but his ability to work orthodox and southpaw is something that sets him apart from a lot of other fighters.
HBO interviewed Terence and a few others back in June, and probed Crawford about his switch-hitting status. Crawford took the opportunity to feebly respond that he was just more than a one-dimensional fighter. Way to flaunt it, Bud.
Regardless of his ownership to the rare style or not, Crawford’s job on Saturday is to overwhelm Ray Beltran with his fast combos, frustrate him with his mechanical headwork, and (the cherry on top) confuse the Mexican by stepping into southpaw every now and then.
Throwing quick jabs from both sides should complicate the mechanics of the sweet science enough to throw Beltran out of his comfort zone.
Key #1 for Ray Beltran
Dig That Body
By Lou Catalano
Ray Beltran should be firing body shots. A lot. Like, he should attempt to rip out Terence Crawford’s abdominal cavity with his gloved fists. He put in the body work against Ricky Burns, and frankly should have gotten the decision win.
Crawford is going to be trying to land hard shots to the head from a distance, and he’s got nasty hand speed and good power. Combine that with the fact that he can fight from the orthodox, southpaw, handstand and downward dog positions, and Beltran is going to have his hands full. He needs to take the steam out of Crawford’s punches, and his will.
It will be interesting to see if Crawford does go southpaw like he did with Yuriorkis Gamboa. He wasn’t doing all that well against him until he switched. But this shouldn’t matter to Beltran, the plan should stay the same. Crawford says he’s not overlooking Beltran, but talking about your future plans at higher weights is somewhat contradictory. Ray needs to let Crawford know early that he’s going to be in a grueling fight.
Beltran has almost no chance if Crawford finds his range and timing. Closing the gap and connecting to the body will give him the best shot at pulling this thing off. Let’s see if he can get it done in Crawford’s backyard.
Key #2 for Terence Crawford
Counter the Jabs
Photo by Lawrence Lustig
By Lauren Pinkerton
It’s no surprise that a lightweight divisional fighter uses speed as a major component in his skill set, but Terence Crawford still seems to outpunch his opponents.
Ray Beltran knows this is going to be a major problem. In Crawford’s last fight against Yuriorkis Gamboa, the landed punch score was 146-82. Despite the fact that the fight ended in a glorious knockout, numbers like that will promise a solid UD every time (because fans love solid UD’s so much, right?).
The only way to stop those punch numbers from flying up is for Beltran to overcrowd Crawford with solid, hard, inside shots.
This is an obvious plan of attack for the Mexican. With that in mind, Crawford needs to execute two things to shut it down.
First is to counter Beltran’s range shots. This should be easy for Crawford, since he’s starting to establish himself as a counter-punching artist. His speed should allow him to see the punches coming, knock the straight down before flurrying back.
But here’s the second part: Crawford should only be countering back with straights. No stepping in with aggressive hooks or other inside attacks. Just the old 1-2 approach.
This plan should keep his punch numbers alive and well, while simultaneously keeping Beltran on the outside the whole time.
