Though Terence Crawford says he is not looking past Kell Brook, instead of getting himself ready for “the best possible Kell Brook,” it seems promoter Bob Arum might be looking past the former IBF welterweight champ.
As fans know, Brook will challenge the unbeaten Crawford in Las Vegas a week today, yet Arum is already talking about what he hopes will come next for Crawford.
Speaking with ESPN, the Top Rank boss said he has just two names in mind for who Crawford should fight in the first half of next year: Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence.
As per the ESPN article, Arum had a deal in place for “Bud” to fight Pacquiao in Qatar this year, only for the fight to fall through due to the coronavirus. Now, Arum says he will not “fool around,” that it will be either Pac-Man or Spence next year for Crawford.
“The next fight is going to be, as far as I can control things, we’re not going to fool around, it’s going to be Pacquiao or Spence,” Arum said in a matter of fact fashion.
Of course, Crawford has to beat Brook first, while as far as a Crawford-Spence showdown is concerned. This is a fight fans have been calling for months now – Spence first must win his comeback fight with Danny Garcia.
But Arum knows what the fans want. For too long, we’ve been waiting and waiting for Crawford to fight a truly elite fighter and/or a superstar. Crawford against either Pacquiao or Spence would fit the bill.
Aside from the lightweight division, the heavyweight division, and maybe the bantamweight division, it could be argued how the welterweight division is the most interesting and exciting weight class today.
But who is the best in the world at 147? A good many people say it’s Crawford, but the 33-year-old needs those massive fights to prove it.
Again, assuming he does defeat Brook (who, from what he’s been saying and going by the superb physical shape he seems to be in, will not go quietly or easily), Crawford has to fight one of the very best. Pacquiao might still be one of the best, even at age 42, as might Spence, even after that terrible car crash.
Who will rise to the top of the 147-pound division next year?