WBO president Paco Valcarcel posted on social media last night that his organization will order the fight between newly crowned Sebastian Fundora and his mandatory, Terence Crawford, next week.
Fundora’s Got Bigger Fish to Fry
It could be an empty gesture by the WBO, as Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) is expected to vacate their belt to fight Errol Spence Jr. in a big-money fight on PPV. This leaves Crawford with the miserable option of facing #1 contender Josh Kelly for the vacant 154-lb strap.
‘The Towering Inferno’ Fundora will be looking for that Spence paycheck, leaving Crawford with the lower-paying Kelly fight. This is obviously not what he had in mind when he decided to move up to 154. That’s a scrap-heap-level fight for Terence.
Fundora’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz says they want to maximize the money they can make, and he believes Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) is the fight they’ll take next. Promoter Leonard Ellerbe also said Spence is next for the 6’5″ Fundora.
A Belt for the Sake of a Belt
It’s not the end of the world for Crawford. If he really cares about winning the WBO junior middleweight title, he can always fight Josh Kelly, and he’d have an excellent chance of capturing that belt against the former David Avanesyan victim.
If Crawford focuses on making as much dough as possible, Kelly isn’t the guy he needs for that purpose. Does the soon-to-be 37-year-old Crawford really care about winning the WBO title just to capture it, or is he focused on getting as much loot as possible with the little time he has left in boxing?
Let’s face it: The only reason Crawford would fight Kelly for the vacant WBO 154-lb belt is his belief that, sooner or later, he’ll get a chance to face Fundora or Tszyu.
Unfortunately, Crawford could be waiting for a long, long time for either of those fights to happen, and he might be better off fighting Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis at 147 or, better yet, moving up to 168 if his goal is still to try and face the King of the division, Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford’s best options:
1. Fight Jaron Boots Ennis
2. Move up to 168