TODD duBOEF: We have given Terence all of the accolades about how great of a fighter he is, which we all know, but I didn’t know he was an internet sensation now. You have to talk about the Internet sensation! I thought this was the Brian McIntyre internet sensation in the last fight from “Camp Life,” but at the press conference tomorrow you’ve got to show me your McGregor Challenge.
TERENCE CRAWFORD: It means a lot to me being it will be the first time that all four belts will be on the line at one time in the division’s history and it has only been done twice in boxing. I’m just ready for the moment and fight time this weekend.
Prior to Indongo’s 1st round KO in Russia, had your team ever heard of him?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: No, we never heard of Indongo and we never saw him fight other than the fight he had in Russia.
TERENCE CRAWFORD: Well, we wanted the Troyanovsky fight but he decided to go with Indongo so when we heard that he got knocked out, we looked at the replay and looked at the fight – that’s when we first took notice of who Indongo really was.
When he fought Ricky Burns who you are familiar with having beaten for the lightweight title, did you think you could make it happen or was it something Top Rank brought to you?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: We wanted the Ricky Burns fight at 140 as well but they didn’t want to take the fight so they wanted to take the fight with Indongo and perhaps later on in the year we could do the fight between me and Ricky Burns again but Indongo beat Ricky Burns, that’s when we took notice and said well he’s the guy with the other two titles so let’s see if we can make a fight with him and unify.
What do you feel about him traveling anywhere to anyone’s hometown to fight for titles?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: It shows a lot about his character and his confidence and his ability in the ring. Him being a two-time world champion in that short amount of time shows that he has a lot of confidence but at the same time he is a little older so he’s at the end of his career coming along so he doesn’t have a lot of choices for what he wants to do. He can’t wait around.
What do you think of Indongo as a fighter?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: Indongo is a good fighter. He is a good boxer – he’s got good legs and he seems like he can punch. He doesn’t let his opponent get on the inside and do a lot of damage to him
TODD duBOEF: Do you find any similarities between him and Postol?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: The only comparison I see is the height. They have two different styles. Postol was more straight up and down. Indongo is a little more elusive. I think Postol was a little more technical. Indongo can get a little wild at times.
Do you think Postol is better than Indongo?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: I can’t say that because I haven’t been in the ring with Indongo but I have been in the ring with Postol. You can see from the outside but once you get in the ring with somebody it can be a totally difference look so after the fight I can tell you.
What do you think about fighting on ESPN broadening you fan base?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: It can broaden the fan base it will give more people the opportunity to see who Terence Crawford really is. To display my talent and my skills to more people – I am just ready for Saturday to come so I can show more people who Terence Crawford really is.
BRIAN McINTYRE: I am just ready for us to get out there so Terence can show what he’s been working on in camp. I want him to unify and make history and the 140-pound division. We can also silence all of the critics that have been saying that his resume is not as good as some fighters. Not only me but also the whole entire team is excited. I know he is excited to, to get out there and show ESPN what everybody has been hearing – that he is a great boxer and a damn good puncher and how he can switch from both sides. So I am excited. I’m excited for the kid and I’m excited for his family. I am excited for everybody.
The winner will have all four belts, which is historic. Will that fighter also be considered pound-for-pound champion?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: Of course, I think I have been doing a lot in the sport of boxing and I have had my name mentioned in the top three. I will be looking forward to being the top one, or maybe two after this fight. It just depends on how people look at it. In my eyes I think I am top two already, so.
Has it bee frustrating to you that you haven’t gotten credit that you deserve?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: I try to not think about that. I can’t worry about what the person thinks about me or says about me. At the end of the day I’m the one that has to go in there and take the punches. A lot of people criticize me for who I am fighting because maybe I am not their favorite fighter or maybe I am doing better than their favorite fighter, or there is a fighter that they want to see me fight and the fight doesn’t happen or it does happen then I beat them. Then they say ‘oh the only reason Terence won was because he is short’ or ‘he won because he was basic’ – there is always going to be an excuse with those types of people.
TODD duBOEF: We are in a sport that gets dissected constantly by people that are haters, people that have agendas and at the end of the day when you have a kid like Terence Crawford who is brilliant in the ring, we just let the people decide what it is. We are going to be sold out in Lincoln, Nebraska and we just did 10,000 people in New York – we are not going to chase the game of people and bloggers and things like that that want to be hating because you will never win that game.
How many will Pinnacle hold?
TODD duBOEF: It is going to hold just over 10,000.
What are your thoughts fighting in Lincoln?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: I am excited about it being that it’s our state capital and where the Nebraska football team plays. It is a nice arena and I always wanted to fight in there. They brought me down there to watch a couple of games and I was always imagining it would be a nice arena to fight in. Everyone around there always welcomed me with open arms telling me ‘you need to come fight here, you need to come fight here.’ So I am excited that I was able to make that happen. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Omaha.
TODD duBOEF: Just imagine, between a 45-minute drive you’ve got Lady GaGa in Omaha and Terence Crawford in Lincoln – not a bad entertainment night in a small area. Brian are you going to the fight or Lady GaGa?
BRYAN McINTYRE: Well I am going to go to GaGa as soon as we knock this dude off. I know her personally.
CARL MORETTI: Terence is probably boxing’s most active champion at this moment. His last defense was three months ago against Felix Diaz and he fought in December before that and June before that. So if you look just before he won the lightweight title it may be eight title defenses in 27 months. I don’t think you can find a more active champion that has gotten better in the ring defending his title more than Crawford.
How important is it to be active?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: It is very important. I am trying to get my name out there and trying to get the recognition that I deserve. I’m still young and in my prime.
What does it mean if Terence is able to knock out Indongo on Saturday night.
BRIAN McINTYRE: That would be lovely – to do it in good fashion like that, you can’t ask for nothing better. You know if you look for a knockout it’s not there.
If you win you have all of the belts – would you rather stay there or move up?
I am at 140 now and come Saturday that is my main focus is Julius Indongo. We’ll see how the fight goes and after that double back around and see what the next move will be.
How is it when you have quick turnaround to training camp? Is it easier?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: Training camp is never easy. It’s always hard but at the same time, I just had a fight and getting back into the gym and back in the groove of everything. It’s tougher when you have a long period of time off because this time I was somewhat in shape.
It seems like you were having fun in camp. Is that normal?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: We like to have some fun in training camp. Training camp is always hard work but have fun, hard work, have fun, hard work – if you don’t love what you are doing then you need to get a difference job. We are dancing every single training camp that we had and play around – that is the different types of things that we do. In “Camp Life” it might be the first time that people actually got to see that outer Terence Crawford.
Is that important to you to get that out?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: It’s important for my brand but at the same time it is just I. I am not into publicizing my every move – make a video and say ‘oh this is what I do for a living,’ I just go with the flow.
If you consider yourself Number 2 pound for pound, who do you say is Number 1?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: Andre Ward.
Where were you when you first saw McGregor do his warm-up?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: I was coming from the gym and everyone was watching a video and I asked what it was, then I said I am going to try that. A couple of days passed then I got everyone together to do the McGregor Challenge.
What’s the best response you’ve gotten since that video went up?
TERENCE CRAWFORD: I’ve been getting all kinds of response – I have been getting hate response, prejudice response, I’ve been getting a lot of positive response. People are telling me McGregor will beat me up. I just laugh – we are just having fun with it.
*********************************
Undefeated 140 pound world champions TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD and JULIUS INDONGO, collide in a world title unification battle, Saturday, August 19, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. The winner will be crowned the first undisputed king of the 140-pound division of the four-belt era.
The rumble between Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs), from Omaha, the two-division world champion and 2014 Fighter of the Year and the holder of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), World Boxing Council (WBC) and The Ring magazine world titles, and Indongo (22-0, 12 KOs), from Windhoek, Namibia, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) world champion, making his U.S. debut, will be televised live and exclusively at 10 p.m. EDT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN app. Indongo, the ultimate road warrior, won all his world titles on foreign soil. The live telecast will open with NABF/NABO light heavyweight champion and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist OLEKSANDR GVOZDYK (13-0, 11 KOs), from Kharkiv, Ukraine, defending his titles against CRAIG BAKER (17-1, 13 KOs), of Baytown, TX. Gvozdyk, world rated No. 2 by the WBC, No. 3 by the WBA and WBO, and No. 5 by the IBF, risks his path to a world title shot against Baker, whose last five victories have come by way of knockout. The telecast will also feature 2016 Olympic silver medalist SHAKUR STEVENSON (2-0, 1 KO), from Newark, NJ, in a six-round featherweight bout; against DAVID PAZ (4-3-1), of La Plata, Argentina
Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Matchroom Boxing, remaining tickets to the Crawford vs. Indongo world championship event are priced at $128, $78, $53, and $28. They can be purchased online via www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at the Pinnacle Bank Arena main ticket office, located in the south lobby, Monday -Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT. Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. CT.
The undercard, which will be streamed live via the ESPN app, will feature former WBO junior welterweight world champion “Mile High” MIKE ALVARADO (37-4, 25 KOs), of Denver, in a 10-round welterweight bout; two-time world heavyweight championship challenger BRYANT JENNINGS (19-2, 10 KOs), from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in an eight-round bout; MIKE “Yes Indeed” REED (22-0, 12 KOs), from Waldorf, MD, in a 10-round junior welterweight bout and Omaha favorites STEVE NELSON (7-0, 6 KOs) and KEVIN VENTURA (6-0, 5 KOs), fighting in six-round light heavyweight and junior lightweight bouts, respectively.