By Chris Williams: Stephen A. Smith of ESPN says he’s “scared” that Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford will knock out 42-year-old Manny Pacquiao if the fight happens this year.
Smith points to the age of the former eight-division world champion Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) as a factor that could result in his being stopped by Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs).
Recently, there were reports that Crawford and Pacquiao were supposedly in negotiations, but it’s unclear whether the sources knew what they were talking about. MP Promotions Sean Gibbons dismissed the talk of a Pacquiao-Crawford fight happening as “Nonsense.”
If the fight does happen, it’ll be interesting to see if Crawford can score a knockout of Pacquiao as Stephen A. fears will happen. What Smith fails to realize is that Crawford isn’t a big puncher.
The fighters that Crawford has been knocking out have been marginal fringe contender level fighters and a lot of old guys like Kell Brook, Amir Khan, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and John Molina Jr.
Crawford’s resume is shaky, filled with guys that any top 10 contenders in the 147 division would breeze through. If you were to feed a fading guy like Danny Garcia all the fighters Crawford has faced during his career, he would arrive at an identical 37-0 record, but likely with more knockouts. When the best name on your resume is Viktor Postol, what does that tell you about Crawford?
You got to hand it to Top Rank for doing a good job of building up Crawford’s resume with fluff opposition, but it’s clearly all smoke & mirrors. Unfortunately, casual boxing fans like Stephen A. don’t follow boxing closely enough to see the difference.
Stephen A says Pacquiao loses to Crawford
“It’s not going the distance. I love Pacquiao, but I’m scared he’s going to get knocked out [by Crawford,” said Stephen A. to ESPN. “I have never been [a Thurman fan].
“I think Keith Thurman is really good, but I never looked at him like I look at Crawford, the way I look at Spence, the way I look at Canelo. And I never looked at him that way.
“So Pacquiao beating him, even though I knew Pacquiao could lose that fight, it’s to be respected, but it ain’t the same. Pacquiao is a one-dimensional fighter; he’s coming.
“He’s an elite, phenomenal Hall of Famer, but he’s coming. So if you’re Terence Crawford, you can turn back into the boxer/puncher.
“You don’t have to be the boxer/puncher because that ain’t what is going to be required. Against him,” said Stephen A. about his belief Pacquiao has no chance against Crawford.
“When you look at Pacquiao, he’s great, I know this, and he’s aged, and we know that. I’m saying because of Crawford. I’m saying that Crawford is on another level, man,” said a fawning Smith about Terence.
It’s doubtful that Crawford would come close to knocking out Pacquiao because he would need to put his own chin on the firing line to make that happen.
Will Manny’s age be a factor against Terence?
“Pacquiao is one of the all-time greats,” Smith continued. “I don’t care about his seven losses on his record. This man moved up from the flyweight, for crying out loud to be the welterweight champion of the world.
“Keith Thurman is a pretty good fighter, and Pacquiao beat him the last time they fought. July will make it two years since they fought.
“I just look at Pacquiao’s age, and I look at the young lion that Crawford [33-years-old] is. We’re talking about one of the top two fighters on the planet in Terence Crawford.
“Understand when you say that Terence Crawford is a champion, that doesn’t mean anything to us. What means something to us is this brother is one of the top two fighters on the planet.
“I’m a guy that is on record that I think Canelo Alvarez is the best in the world right now. He’s #1 pound-for-pound. I don’t want to hear anything from anybody.
“Canelo is special; he’s a monster, okay? Crawford is right there; Crawford is on another level, man. I’m just looking at this right now, and Pacquiao, who I still haven’t gotten.
“I know he hasn’t even been knocked down, let alone knocked out since [the Juan Manuel Marquez fight]. I know he [Pacquiao] had a couple of losses against Mayweather and Jeff Horn from Australia before Crawford beat him [in 2018].
“And I get who Pacquiao is. And I haven’t completely gotten over the knockout at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez, who was buffed up; I’ll leave that to you. But in the end, Crawford is special on an elite level.
“I’m still mad that we still don’t [have Spence vs. Crawford]. I’m calling out Al Haymon, and I’m calling out Bob Arum.
“How can y’all not give us the Errol Spence – Terence Crawford fight? That’s the fight we need to see,” said Smith.
Age could be a factor for Pacquiao if he faces Crawford this year, but it might work in reverse as well.
Crawford is about to turn 34, and that’s not a spring chicken for the welterweight division. Stephen A. calls Crawford a “Young Lion,” which further reinforces the idea that he’s a casual boxing fan and doesn’t follow the sport closely enough to realize that he’s an aging lion, starting to lose claws.
Crawford has also become avoidant of the young lions, as we see with him not wanting to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr or Errol Spence.
Kellerman picks Crawford over Canelo as #1 fighter
“Al Haymon and the PBC are behaving because they have most of the best welterweights and are behaving as though that’s the entire welterweight universe, and why do we need anyone else because they make great fights, which they can among themselves,” said Max Kellerman on why the Spence vs. Crawford fight isn’t happening. “But until Spence fights Crawford, stop.”
“We have to have that fight,” Smith said of the Crawford vs. Spence fight.
“Putting the Crawford vs. Spence fight to the side for a moment,” Kellerman said. “Just dealing with Pacquiao.
“Pacquiao would be by the time the fight [with Crawford] started, a 2 1/2 underdog, and I would pick Terence Crawford.
“Canelo has the argument for the best pound-for-pound in the world, but I would take Crawford.
“I can’t prove it. Put me on a lie detector test and say, ‘who is the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,’ and I say, ‘Terence Crawford.”
Well, it’s not surprising that Max Kellerman picks Crawford over Canelo Alvarez as his #1 fighter in Boxing. The last time Chris Williams checked, Crawford fights on ESPN, the same company Kellerman works for.
The question is, will Kellerman still pick Crawford as the #1 guy if he leaves Top Rank in October when his contract expires and he signs with Matchroom Boxing to fight on DAZN?
