Terence Crawford vs. Andrey Klimov on October 5th in Orlando, Florida

By Boxing News - 08/21/2013 - Comments

crawford1111By Scott Gilfoid: #1 WBO, #3 IBF, lightweight contender Terence Crawford (21-0, 16 KO’s) will be facing unbeaten fringe contender #12 WBO, Andrey Klimov (16-0, 8 KO’s) on October 5th in a scheduled 10 round bout on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto vs. Delvin Rodriguez fight card on HBO at the Amway Center, in Orlando, Florida, USA.

Klimov, 31, just struggled to a close 10 round majority decision last June in a fight that very well could have gone to Molina. I see this as a step down for Crawford from his fight against Breidis Prescott last March, and I’d like to see Crawford facing some live bodies before he gets his shot at the WBO title and wins against whoever is holding it.

I think we could see it vacated at some point before Crawford faces the current champion. If history is any guide, I see the WBO title being vacated real soon, and then Crawford can go after the vacant strap against the next highest contender at WBO.

Klimov doesn’t have a lot of power, and he’s really easy to hit. Crawford’s last opponent Alejandro Sanabria would likely be too good for Klimov to handle, and that’s what I mean by this being a step down for Crawford.

Crawford is arguably the best fighter at 135 right now. The only real competition he has in this weight class is WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner, but there are major questions about whether Broner will be back at this weight. If not, then the lightweight division pretty much belongs to Crawford, and he’ll be able to easily win one title after another if he doesn’t move up to 140.

It’s obviously going to be hard for Crawford to resist after he captures a couple of lightweight titles. The money is a lot better at 140, and if Crawford fights at that weight, he’ll be in position to get fights against the welterweights, and that’s where the big money is at.



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