(Terence Crawford lands a right jab on Raymundo Beltran)
Undefeated lightweight champion Terence Crawford retained his WBO Lightweight Championship belt Saturday against Raymundo Beltran, at CenturyLink Center in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. Crawford dominated the fight for its entirety, winning via unanimous decision with scores of 120-109, 119-109, and 119-109. Beltran was the number one contender to the title, and still is a real threat to anyone else at lightweight, but Crawford proved he was a class above Beltran, and everyone else at lightweight for that matter.
Crawford has enjoyed a spectacular year, having won three fights in 2014 against three world class opponents. In March of this year, Crawford traveled to Scotland to knock off then WBO Champion Ricky Burns, before returning home to Omaha for his most recent two fights. In June, Crawford KO'd former undefeated Cuban lightweight Yuriorkis Gamboa, in a fight that solidified him as the top dog at 135 lbs. Tonight was Crawford's second straight fight in front of a soldout crowd, selling over 10 thousand tickets in a city that wasn't known as a Boxing market until Crawford became such a big draw. Crawford will surely draw some fighter of the year consideration, and just might be one of the favorites to win this award. His rise to stardom is huge for the lifeblood of boxing, as he is a young, undefeated American that uses speed and great defense to outbox his opponents, yet he is not afraid to mix it up and bang in the center of the ring with heavy handed fighters. Crawford is also one of the best fighters n recent memory at switching his stance from orthodox to southpaw and being equally as effective with either approach. The future is bright for Crawford, and boxing can always use another star.
After the fight, Crawford announced he would be moving up to Junior Welterweight/Super lightweight (140 lbs). This opens up the possibility for very lucrative fights in this division, and there are numerous interesting matchups that can be made. This also opens the door for a move to Welterweight (147 lbs) later in Crawford's career, which has long been seen as the money division. This division has been stacked with star fighters for years, and Crawford could be a guy to watch in that division once Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao retire. Whatever happens in the future, right now Terence Crawford is building himself into a bonafide star.
(Photo Credit: TopRank.com/Photos http://www.toprank.com/uploaded_files/images/photo/l/l_3acad157c9c79c30cc79df9dded957c1AY1J9141.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment