Bud Crawford boxing news and latest headlines
Team Dulorme is heading to Texas: Today at the Luis Munoz Marin Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican world title contender, Thomas Dulorme ( 22-1, 14 KOs ) alongside with his team, are heading to Arlington, Texas for the biggest fight of Dulorme’s career schedule for this Saturday, April 18 against Terence Crawford ( 25-0, 17 KOs ) of Nebraska, for the vacant WBO World super lightweight title.
BOB ARUM: We are very excited to bring this event to Arlington, Texas, We are familiar with the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and have put on shows at Cowboys Stadium and this facility at the University of Texas Arlington is beautiful which is fitting for Fighter of the Year Terence Crawford, who was the world champion of the lightweight division and is now moving up for a crack at a junior welterweight world title. He fights a difficult contender in Thomas Dulorme. But we at Top Rank are confident in the ability of Terrence Crawford.
TERRENCE CRAWFORD: Camp has been going great. You know it’s been a blessing to be where I’m at and at this point I am ready to just go in there and do what I’ve got to do on Saturday night.
Undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight champion and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s (BWAA) Fighter of the Year TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD (25-0, 17 KOs), from Omaha, NE, Puerto Rican buzz saw THOMAS “Thunder” DULORME (22-1, 14 KOs), the No. 2 world-rated contender and Hall of Fame promoter BOB Arum hosted a media conference call on Monday to discuss their upcoming rumble for the vacant WBO junior welterweight title. The Crawford-Dulorme world title fight will take place This Saturday! April 18, at College Park Center, located on the campus of the University of Texas Arlington in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The world championship fight will be televised as part of a split site doubleheader live on HBO Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT.
(Note: In the third installment of a week long breakdown, boxing scribe Vivek “Vito” Wallace analyzes where today’s top fighters stand, and whether or not 2015 could be the year many of them fall. This week long analysis will cover over 30 top fighters from around the world)
TERENCE CRAWFORD
Despite a somewhat uneventful 2014 in the sport, the one golden talent which served as a silver-lining with platinum potential was Omaha, Nebraska’s Terrance Crawford. Coming into the year few knew his name. By the time it ended, few could forget it! The emergence of Terence Crawford onto the scene has been a breath of fresh air. In what was once considered a limited selection of fans, suddenly, the African American base around the world has a talent to root for that does more fighting than flaunting (money), and more taming than talking!
Tis the season of giving and we aim to pass on some holiday cheer to a group of fighters that we believe deserve top honors. In some categories, we also offer honorable mention. Without further ado, here are our front-runners for 2014’s major boxing superlatives:
Knockout of the Year
“Paparazzi” Jones — Amir Mansour KO7 Fred Kassi. Amir “Hardcore” Mansour’s (21-1, 16 KOs) clock-cleaning 7th round KTFO of Fred Kassi (18-3, 10 KOs) was my top choice. This highlight-reel KO deserved an R rating for Strong Violence and it was SI.com’s Knockout of the Year (KOTY).
Undefeated World Boxing Organization`s (“WBO”) Lightweight Title Holder, Terrance “Hunter” Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs) went from a rather unknown up and coming contender to a potential superstar in 2014 as he obtained a world title from Ricky Burns and then successfully defended it twice against two great pugilists, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo Beltra, which makes him my 2014 Fighter of the Year.
Crawford traveled to Glasgow, Scotland in March and beat up two-division world champion, Ricky Burns, who was making his fourth title defense. Despite fighting the biggest bout of his career and being a long way from his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford showed no signs of being shy in the big moment. He proved to be no match for the tough and experienced Burns as he controlled the fight and effectively landed whatever he wanted, especially from the outside, en route to a twelve unanimous decision victory, despite fighting in Burns` backyard.
Freddy C. (Raleigh, NC): Terrance Crawford is a guy that I never really cared for initially, but after watching him again, this kid is solid. Give us your thoughts on where you place him as a talent and who you would like to see him face going forward?
Vivek W. (ESB): I’ve watched Crawford develop over the past few years and I can say unequivocally, this is the most polished “fighter on the rise” in the sport, today. When I look at young talents out there that seem to grab headlines at will…..guys such as Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman, Adrien Broner, Golovkin, etc.; each of those young studs are great in their own way, but Crawford is without question the most complete talent of them all. What I love most about him is the hybrid type effect he exudes. You get the cerebral, fundamental type execution; yet when he gets touched, you see the ‘dog’ in him surface and take over, as well! Literally, the best of both worlds!
Terence Crawford thrilled the standing room only crowd at the Century Link Center Omaha, Nebraska with his skill and finesse. Once again he managed to display a touch of artistry in the most violent of sports. He always remains calm and poker-faced while he carves and sculpts his subject. Saturday night, after twelve one-sided rounds, the skillful practitioner named Terence “Hunter/Bud” Crawford 25-0-0 (17KO) presented his finished work in the form of a swollen and bruised Raymundo “Sugar” Beltran 29-7-1 (17KO). Everyone was impressed. They liked what they saw.
What’s not to like about this young man. First of all, he seems to have his priorities straight. The first thing he did after winning his fight against Ray Beltran was to give thanks to God. He obviously understands and his grateful for the gifts with which he has been blessed. He also acknowledged he fought his last fight as a lightweight and will be moving up to the 140lb division.
Unbeaten World Boxing Organization 135 pound champion Terence Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs) put in a safety first performance in beating challenger Raymundo Beltran (29-7-1, 17 KOs) by a less than thrilling 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night to retain his WBO lightweight strap in front of his own fans at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Depending on what kind of fan you are, Crawford’s performance was either boring or thrilling. With all the holding and movement that Crawford used to keep from getting hit, I’m in the camp that saw the fight as less than crowd pleasing. Of course, Crawford didn’t have to deal with boos given that the fight took place in his own hometown in Omaha rather than in a venue whether boxing fans would have put pressure on him to open up more with his offense.
The first came over seas in Scotland when Crawford took on the 135 pound Champion Ricky Burns. Once Crawford got past some early slow moments he dominated the Scot, in the process it put him on the lightweight map.
In his first defense Crawford took less money to give his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska its first major title fight since the 1930’s (Check). His opponent was a decorated Cuban amateur Yurioirkis Gamboa, who like Terrence came in with an unblemished record intact.