Terence Crawford seeks to show that he is the best and brightest pugilist the planet, by beating whoever Top Rank puts in front of him. On April 20, that will be Amir Khan.
Published
on
By
Michael Woods
Terence Crawford will get the career defining fight he's craved, as the fighting pride of Nebraska will take on Amir Khan, who many see as a heavy underdog but definitely brings immense name recognition to the table.
“Bud” Crawford went face to face with Khan on Thursday, coming off their announcement in England that they'll square off April 20, on ESPN PPV.
Word is the bout and the rest of that card will unfold in NYC, but the site hasn't been released to the masses as yet.
Many fans are thinking the 31 year old Bud will easily best Khan, but are they too much focusing on the fact that Khan's chin got checked by Canelo when they met in 2016, but that Crawford at 147 doesn't pack the same wallop as the Mexican? Also, Khan is 7-1 in his last eight, and he's firmed up the ship since losing back to back scraps against Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia in 2011 into 2012. He's only 32, though you might think he's older, because he's been on radar screens for so long.
Meanwhile, Crawford is feeling a bit irked that some media and fans give him the business because the PBC boxers stay on their side of the street and the Top Rank fighters are prone to stick to their side of the aisle; he made clear that all he can do is fight who he fights, keep winning, and let things shake out. We feel his pain; he could lay full claim to being pound for pound number one if he were able to get the Errol Spence's to toe the line. “All the other top welterweights have dates lined up,” Bud told Max and SAS on “First Take.”
Check out some more from Bud and Amir from their hit on “First Take:”
Here is the release Top Rank sent out:
NEW YORK CITY (Jan. 17, 2019) — Fresh off their kickoff press conference in London, WBO welterweight world champion Terence “Bud” Crawford and Amir “King” Khan flew across the pond for a special press conference at ESPN’s South Street Seaport studios in lower Manhattan.
Crawford and Khan will battle on Saturday, April 20, live on the inaugural Top Rank on ESPN pay-per-view at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT. Details on how fans will be able to access the pay-per-view event will be announced at a later date.
On stop two of the Crawford-Khan cross-continental media tour, this is what the fighters and Top Rank chairman Bob Arum had to say.
Terence Crawford
“Amir Khan has been in there with a lot of great fighters. Me beating him will put me on another level in the welterweight division. People are interested in seeing this fight.”
“It don't matter how I win. I just want to win. That still won't get the fighters I want to fight in the ring with me. I just need to keep doing what I'm doing.”
“There's no animosity between me and Amir. He respects me. I respect him. We'll do our thing in the ring on April 20, and we'll shake hands when it's over.”
“I’m expecting the best Amir Khan to show up. I never take any shortcuts in training camp. I’m always training for the best fighter that {my opponent} can be. I never look at it like, ‘Oh, he’s some half Amir Khan, or he’s washed up.’ We’re going to train for the best Amir Khan.”
Amir Khan
On why he signed to fight Crawford
“First of all, it was because it was for a world title. Also, Terence is up there as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. This is a fight that could take me to a different level, and I want to win this fight because I want to be the best in the world. All them dreams I’ve had of being the best ever, and one day being that pound-for-pound champion, this is the fight that can take me there.”
“I’ve been reading a lot of things and hearing a lot of things with people saying that I’m taking this fight just to get beat or maybe just to have another world title fight. It isn’t about that. I’m coming here to win. I’ve never gone into a fight just to make numbers. I’ve made a lot of money in the game, and I could leave the sport happy. But I still have unfinished business. I still have a lot left in me to win them titles. Maybe my last fight wasn’t the best fight. Maybe that’s one of the reasons that got me this fight. I will prove myself. Going into this fight, I’m highly motivated. Terence is a great champion. I’m not going to walk into the ring just to get beat. I’m coming to win this fight. I don’t have that much pressure in this fight because people are expecting me to get beat. I’m going to come and shock the world.”
“This is a fight that can redeem my whole career. Against Canelo, maybe I was biting off more than I could chew. I took that fight because it was a massive opportunity for me, and I believe in myself as a fighter. This fight, I see that it’s more fair. We’re similar weights. We’ve had similar experience. In my opinion, I’ll be able to take his punching power. He’s also a quick and a skillful fighter, so there’s a lot of advantages for me in this fight. In other fights, I’ve fought guys who are a lot stronger, a lot bigger in weight. That plays a big part. In this fight, I really think I have the style and everything it takes to win.”
Bob Arum
“The idea is to make the best possible fight. We’ve been Terence’s promoter for many, many years. He’s at a stage now where, to cement his legacy, he has to fight the best. And I’ve always been a big fan of Amir Khan. I remember Amir Khan when he was an amateur and what great skills he has and had. It will be a real test for Bud Crawford to fight Amir Khan. I really think Amir has been one of the best welterweights around. And I think it’s going to be a great, great fight on April 20.”
“Terence Crawford, should he win the fight April 20, he will fight the best available welterweights in the world. It’s the world. There are tremendously gifted fighters. There’s this kid in Spain that’s the biggest attraction Spanish boxing ever had called {Kerman Lejarraga}. And he’s a terrific fighter. There’s the Eastern Europeans. There’s a lot of good welterweights. If there are fighters fighting for another promoter, and the other promoter is digging his heels in and won’t give his fighters the opportunity to be on a big stage, it’s on them. I can’t be worried about it.”
Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson.
The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999.
Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.
