Crawford: We are definitely going to find out who has the better jab
By Bill Green
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank –
It’s all too rare in the sport of boxing to see the number one and number two fighters in a division face one another, especially while risking unbeaten records. But, on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, we’ll witness exactly such a confrontation. WBO jr welterweight champion and Pride of Omaha Terence “Bud” Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) faces Freddie Roach-trained, WBC super lightweight champion Victor “The Iceman” Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) from Ukraine in a highly anticipated unification showdown on HBO PPV.
Fightnews.com® has been covering Terence “Bud” Crawford since his fifth professional fight and we sat down with him Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas before he left for his nightly conditioning workout.
Hello, champ. We have covered you for so long, it’s a real privilege to see you reach your goals and to finally be center stage. Does being on PPV and have the so called “next guy” tag put too much pressure on you?
Not at all, I mean..this is what I wanted, I just thought it would happen sooner. The pressure is always there but that’s just part of the sport. My job is to get my body and mind ready for whatever stage they tell/ask me to get ready for. But yeah most definitely it’s surreal. I’ve always seen myself as a main event guy.
I believe you are now on your fourth straight fight at 140lbs. How much have those five pounds made a difference in your preparation, training and strategy?
The move up in weight was perfect, it was huge. I don’t feel drained, it’s nice to be able to eat the week of weigh-ins and cutting in camp is no longer life and death (laughing). Ya’ll have no idea how much fighters go through to make weight, especially if they are already fit guys. I’ve been doing this since eight years old.
This will be your first fight at the MGM Grand. The venue has a rich history of mega fights that produced huge stars. Will we see another one come Saturday night?
I don’t know, it really depends on how the fight goes, what my opponent can and wants to do. I know that I’m prepared to box if necessary, bang if necessary, or even get in a dog fight if that’s what it takes to be victorious. I’m a big fan of the sport and fighting here at the MGM is going to be electric.
A couple more questions champ and we will let you do your thing. A lot of speculation and talk has been about Victor Postol’s dissection of former champion Lucas Matthysse. It seems as if everyone has fell in love with Postol’s jab. We know you have a darn good jab as well. Does it bother you that he gets credit for his jab but others fail to mention yours?
Yeah, it’s kind of funny hearing it. I’m like reading and hearing ‘his jab this, his jab that…’ If that’s all he has, he’s in trouble. I do feel like my jab is definitely underrated and I take pride in working on everything in the gym. I feel like my boxing IQ, ring generalship, power/speed along with my own jab hopefully makes me a complete fighter.
What does Terence Crawford need to do in order to take another man’s title that means so much to his country and himself?
I need to follow the game plan, the plan we worked on in camp. I need to adjust as the fight goes and convince him that tonight it’s not going his way. I just need to be me, to be myself and let those hands go. We are definitely going to find out who has the better jab.