Bob Arum is working on Terence Crawford’s next fight; at least the promoter has plenty of ideas regarding Crawford’s next fight. Speaking with talkSPORT, Arum said his first choice is a Crawford Vs. Manny Pacquiao fight, perhaps out in the Middle East. However, Arum added how, if that fight is unable to make here in 2020, it will likely be one of the following four welterweights for “Bud”: Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas or Kell Brook.
As Arum mentioned in the interview, all but Brook are with Al Haymon’s PBC, yet the Top Rank boss says he sees no problem there as he and Haymon’s people are “working well together.” As is the case with fans of Crawford, Arum is anxious to see the reigning WBO welterweight champ and pound-for-pound entrant get back to work, and against a big name. A massive fight with rival 147 champ Errol Spence will not happen until next year (at the earliest), and a Crawford might not get Pac-Man this year. But as Arum says, Thurman, Porter, Ugas and Brook are all good fighters.
“That’s the opponent I would most like Terence to fight, and I think he would,” Arum said of Crawford Vs. Pacquiao. “Now, that requires a lot of money and we’ve had proposals from the Mid-East. I don’t know if those proposals will be available for this year. That is the problem. Otherwise, we have to look for Terence Crawford to fight a major welterweight. There are a number that are possibilities. [Keith] Thurman, [Shawn] Porter or this kid [Yordenis] Ugas, the Cuban who’s a good, good welterweight. And then finally there’s Kell Brook, whose management contacts me on almost a weekly basis.”
Arum again stated how Pacquiao is “first, if that’s possible.” Obviously, of those five names, mega-star Pacquiao is the most intriguing, exciting fight for Crawford. Can Pac-Man pull off yet another stunning victory? Of the other four, Porter is almost always all-action, barring his fight with the other guy on the list in Ugas, who is a clever boxer if not an action guy (Porter winning a close and debatable but dull decision over Ugas). Thurman has been hopelessly inactive, and he has not boxed since losing to Pacquiao almost a full year ago. Whereas Brook may or may not have one last big fight left in him.
Of the four names Arum mentioned in case the Pacquiao fight is not able to be made, I’d pick Porter. The kind of heat Porter can bring would perhaps see to it that Crawford is tested harder, and longer, than by any other welterweight out there. Once the coronavirus has been KO’d and Crawford can get back to business a fight between he and Porter would be welcomed by many fans. This one included.
Crawford, 36-0 (27) and aged 32 (33 in September), has been out for too long as it is, Crawford not having fought since December.