Top Rank promoter Bob Arum will have a tremendous amount of pressure on him when it comes to getting an important fight for WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in 2021.
His contract with Top Rank reportedly expires in October 2021, and the chances of Bud re-upping with Arum are slim if he doesn’t get that huge fight that has eluded him since he turned pro in 2008.
Arum can increase his chances of re-signing Crawford if he matches him up against one of these Premier Boxing Champions fighters:
- Manny Pacquiao
- Errol Spence Jr
- Keith Thurman
- Danny Garcia
- Shawn Porter
Arum’s problem is that the majority of those guys aren’t going to volunteer to fight Crawford because he’s a counter puncher and southpaw. No one wants to fight counter punchers, and southpaws are avoided like the plague.
Arum’s chances of getting one of the PBC welterweights to fight Crawford are low unless he throws a bundle of money at them. According to Mike Coppinger, Pacquiao was willing to fight Crawford for $23 million in the Middle East, but the fight failed to happen. That’s a lot of money for a fight that might not bring in a massive amount of pay-per-view buys.
If Crawford is planning on leaving Top Rank, it might not be worth it for Arum to invest a bunch of money in a fight between him and Pacquiao.
Crawford is 33 now, and soon he’ll be turning 34, and he’s clearly running out of time before he loses his reflexes are starts losing.
Terence is defending his WBO welterweight title against Kell Brook (39-2, 27 KOs) this Saturday night on ESPN in ‘The Bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The start time for the Crawford vs. Brook fight card is at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) should win this fight without any problems, as Brook has lost a major part of his game due to age, ring wear, and inactivity. A lot of it is age.
Brook has never had fast hands, but he’s dramatically slowed down in the last three years. His hand speed is so slow that he’s going to be easy pickings for Crawford, and the fight could end quickly if Terence puts it on him. However, Brook has the kind of power to trouble Crawford if he can stay around until the championship rounds.
If you saw what Brook did to the face of Mark DeLuca after the first two rounds, that could easily happen to Crawford if he’s forced to battle Brook into the championship rounds. Crawford can dominate and still take a beating from Brook.
“Kell, I’ve known him since he was a youngster, and I know how talented he was,” said Johnny Nelson to IFL TV on Brook and whether he can beat Crawford.
“I don’t know where he is right now in regards to performing. What I do know is what I’m seeing. Kell is a talented fighter. I don’t think Kell is the same fighter he was three years ago, but that doesn’t mean he can’t pull one more top drawer performance out of the bag.
Why I think it’s going to be hard is because the one man that I know gets the best out of Kell, he’s not working with him. This is such a big fight. This is one that he needs to tick every box. Kell is in brilliant condition, but I think it’s a tough ask because it’s too many he hasn’t ticked for me regarding preparation for this.
I want Kell to win. He’s a Brit. I always get behind a Brit. I’m not bull s*** and saying he’ll win when he doesn’t win. I hope Kell pulls it off for his legacy. I hope Kell pulls it off for bragging rights for the likes of Amir Khan.
And I hope Kell pulls it off for himself because he’s made a bold move with his career. After all, he’s Sky’s baby. He’s in love with Sky,” said Nelson.
