Terence Crawford says he’s done calling out the top fighters in an attempt to face him after his victory last Saturday night against Kell Brook in a Top Rank promoted show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite Crawford saying he’s done calling out the top fighters at 147, he wasted no time calling out Manny Pacquiao moments after the fight. So I’m not sure how to take Crawford’s comment about him no longer calling out the top welterweights. Maybe Crawford means he’s done calling out everyone but Pacquiao or something. Whatever.
It works for Crawford if he doesn’t fight Errol Spence Jr or Shawn Porter right now because he might lose to both, and then it would be pointless for him to continue to call out Manny Pacquiao over and over like he’s been doing.
Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) successfully defended his WBO welterweight title in beating the always tough 34-year-old Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) in an ESPN-televised show in ‘The Bubble’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Referee Tony Weeks stopped the show at 1:14 of round four after a hurt Brook turned away from Crawford, showing that he was defenseless while pounded unmercifully against the ropes.
Brook came into the fight a huge 7- to 1 underdog; it wasn’t unexpected that he would lose. What was a surprise is that Crawford hurt Brook with a right-hand jab to the head, which had the British fighter falling into the ropes, covering up.
After Brook was given a brief standing eight-count by referee Tony Weeks, Crawford put in the coup de grace by landing several more shots to get the stoppage. At the end of the fight, Brook was still on his feet, but he was turned sideways and looked like he needed saving.
The fans had a mixed reaction, as one would guess. There wasn’t enough action in the Crawford-Brook fight to call it a true battle. Also, the way a weak-looking jab from Crawford took out Brook, it feeds into the perception that the Top Rank fighter was matched against another shot fighter.
Last year, Crawford beat part-time British boxer Amir Khan, by a sixth-round stoppage on ESPN PPV.
Like Brook, Khan is also a part-time fighter at this point in his career, and he’s over-the-hill by at least eight years. Brook has looked finished since 2016, so he’s not quite as bad as Khan in that department, but close.
Crawford won’t call out top fighters anymore
“I don’t call them out. I’m not going to keep calling them out every time you put a camera in my face,” Crawford said when asked why he isn’t calling out the big names.
“I’ve already did that, so there’s no need to do it anymore. If it gets made, it gets made. As I said before, I’m not sad if it doesn’t happen. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.
“It’s the way the cards roll. I wish all the top welterweights. I wish them nothing but the best. Of course,” Crawford said when asked if he’ll watch the Errol Spence Jr vs. Danny Garcia fight on December 5th on Fox Sports pay-per-view.
Okay, so Crawford is saying he’s no longer calling out the top fighters, but in an interview with ESPN last Saturday night, he called out Pacquiao, saying this:
“I want Pacquiao. I want to revisit that fight,” Crawford said. “That was a fight that should’ve happened right now. That was the only thing we were waiting on.”
So, I guess Crawford IS still calling out top fighters if their name is ‘Manny Pacquiao.’
If Pacquiao doesn’t fight Crawford, who will Top Rank match him against in the first half of 2021? If not Pacquiao, will it be Errol Spence, Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas, Keith Thurman, or Danny Garcia?
What’s clear is Crawford needs a major upgrade from the UK fighters Brook and Amir Khan that he’s been fighting recently. If Top Rank doesn’t get Pacquiao or Spence for Crawford, Thurman, Porter, or Ugas would be an excellent option.
Why Terence won’t give interviews to his biased critics
“You’re not going to talk negatively about me and then ask me for an interview,” said Crawford in sounding bitter. “I don’t care who you’re with. So if you respect me as a man, then I’ll give you an interview.
“I never had a problem giving no interviews. I never see you writing anything negative about me. Of course, everybody has got their opinion and can write, ‘I don’t think Terence looked that good.’
“That’s cool, everybody can write that, but when you take it personally; ‘Oh, he’s not fighting this guy,’ and you’re trying to downplay me and my career and my accomplishments, then I’m going to be like, ‘No, I’m not doing any interviews.’
“Why would I want to do an interview with you when you’re not a supporter of me, not even of boxing because you’re being biased now.
“Now, you’re going off your personal preference and not your analyst for, and that’s why I only give a select few interviews,” said Crawford.
It looks like what Crawford is taking as criticism from journalists is them pointing out the obvious about the lack of quality opposition that he’s been facing for the past 12 years.
Unfortunately, in boxing, wily promoters are good at building fighters to make them look invincible by matching them against subpar opposition over an extended period of time.
You can’t do this kind of thing in other sports like the NFL and NBA, as the teams in those leagues are forced to play against good teams. But in boxing, promoters can build up a fighter to become popular without ever matching them against a high-caliber opponent.
In the case of Crawford, you can argue he’s not faced anyone good since he turned pro in 2008.
Has Top Rank purposefully matched Crawford weak to use the backdoor method of building him into a star, or has all the elite fighters avoided him? Whatever it is, Crawford still hasn’t faced anyone of note, and that is why the media and boxing fans criticize him.