By: Sean Crose
Give Terence “Bud” Crawford this: he goes to the beat of his own drummer. The current WBO world welterweight champion was supposed to face compatriot Errol Spence Jr in a legal superfight before the end of the year, but in a turn that drove fans crazy, the negotiations have failed. And so Crawford has decided to take on David Avanesyan in a scheduled 12-round title match this weekend in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. It was a match Crawford could easily win, although the match will be the main event of the pay-per-view card.
The 29-0 boxer has been battling a celebrity for the past few years – Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Amir Khan and Victor Postal have all fallen victim to the master boxer. Although naysayers like to argue that Crawford never fought a leading opponent in his prime (the same accusation is often made against Floyd Mayweather), there’s no denying it. the fact that Crawford has an extraordinary skill set. And he plans to show it off this Saturday in high style in front of his hometown crowd. Not that Avanesyan 29-3-1 is being ignored.
“I have to train as if I were facing King Kong on December 10th,” says Crawford, “because Avanesyan has everything to gain and nothing to lose. I know he’s bringing everything with him on December 10th, so I’m not going to ignore him. This is going to be the best Avanesyan, so I have to be the best Terence Crawford.” Sure, Avanesyan is known for being a man who isn’t afraid to take down the ring. At the very least, those who buy a pay-per-view pass on Saturday will get a fun main event. It is highly unlikely that this war will be a snooze.
While the decorated Crawford shows he is still open to facing Spence in the future, he also indicated that he would be fine if he and Spence never actually met in the ring. In other words, the guy is completely secure. Of course, he has good reason to be. However, fans still want to witness the fight between Crawford-Spence before each crosses the hill. After all, there is a new breed growing, and no man will sit on top of the pile forever. However, that was Crawford’s career. He can do what he wants with it. And no – a trip to the Hall of Fame doesn’t depend on whether he fights Spence or not. Nor should.
