By: Sean Crose
Give Terence “Bud” Crawford this: he goes to the beat of his own drummer. The current WBO welterweight champion of the world was supposed to be facing fellow titlist Errol Spence Jr in a legit superfight before the end of the year, but in a maddening development for fans, the negotiations fell through. And so, Crawford has decided to face David Avanesyan in a scheduled 12 round title bout that will go down this weekend in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. It’s a bout that Crawford is easily expected to win, though the fight will be the main event of a pay per view card.
The 29-0 fighter has battled a whose who of notables over the last several years – Shawn Porter, Kell Brook, Amir Khan, and Victor Postal have all fallen victim to the master fighter. Even though naysayers love to argue that Crawford has never fought a top opponent in his prime (the same charge was often lodged against Floyd Mayweather) there’s no denying the fact that Crawford has an extraordinary skill set. And he’s planning on showing it off this Saturday in high style in front of a hometown crowd. Not that the 29-3-1 Avanesyan is being overlooked.
“I have to train like I am facing King Kong on December 10th,” Crawford said, “because Avanesyan has everything to gain and nothing to lose. I know he is going to bring everything on December 10th, so I’m not looking past him. This will be the best Avanesyan, so I have to be the best Terence Crawford.” Sure enough, Avanesyan is known to be a man unafraid to throw down in the ring. At the very least, those who purchase Saturday’s pay per view card should get a main event that’s entertaining. It’s highly unlikely that this fight will be a snoozefest.
While the decorated Crawford has indicated he’s still willing to face Spence in the future, he’s also indicated that he’ll be fine if he and Spence never actually meet in the ring. In other words, the guy is completely self assured. He’s got good reason to be, of course. Still, fans would like to see a Crawford-Spence fight before each man is over the hill. There’s a new breed on the rise, after all, and neither man will sit atop the heap forever. It’s Crawford’s career, however. He can do what he wants with it. And no – a trip to the Hall of Fame doesn’t rest on whether or not he fights Spence. Nor should it.