By Chris Williams: Bob Arum says Terence Crawford will be fighting in October against a still to be determined opponent, and then they’ll decide what his next move is.
Arum would ideally like to put a fight together between Crawford and IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.. Still, with him saying that Crawford will be fighting in October, that makes it unlikely that he’ll be able to get Spence to fight him.
The problem is, defending against Manny Pacquiao on August 21st, and he’s not going to be able to jump back into training camp to get ready right away for a fight against Crawford in October.
Unfortunately, this could be the swansong for Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) with Arum and his Top Rank promotional company, as it’s believed that his contract with them expires in October.
Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter are in negotiations for a fight in late summer, and the winner of that contest won’t be able to fight Crawford in October. Spence just beat Danny Garcia, so he doesn’t have much to offer for a fight against Crawford.
“We’re going to have him in the ring in October, and then we’ll see where he goes from there,” said Bob Arum to Fighthype.
Crawford will likely end up with a smaller fight on par with his last seven matches.
There are some good options for Crawford to fight, like Vergil Ortiz Jr, Jaron Ennis, Mikey Garcia, and David Avanesyan. However, it’s doubtful Arum will pick any of those fighters.
At this point, Arum has got to know that it’s important that he pick a big name for Crawford to fight if he wants him to re-sign with his Top Rank company.
Arum can’t afford to match Crawford against another lesser welterweight like Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Kell Brook, Jose Benavidez Jr, Jeff Horn, and Amir Khan.
Arum said he was trying to get a fight for Crawford against Manny Pacquiao in Abu Dhabi, but the money didn’t come through.
Although Arum could have still made the Pacquiao vs. Crawford without the money, it would have involved him taking the risk of losing millions. Arum didn’t want to do that due to the large purse required for Pacquiao.
Crawford, 33, hadn’t fought since last November when he defeated past his prime 34-year-old former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook by a fourth-round knockout.
If Crawford fights in October, it’ll be his only activity this year unless he does a speedy turnaround to fight in December. I don’t see that happening. It’s another wasted year for Crawford as his career marches down.
