ARUM: CRAWFORD EVEN BETTER AT WELTERWEIGHT
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 11 Nov 2017
Bob Arum considers Terence Crawford to be one of the top two pound-for-pound boxers in the sport and he expects an even better Crawford now that the undefeated former lightweight and super lightweight champion has moved up to the welterweight division. Arum said that even if Crawford destroyed his three most recent foes, John Molina Jr., Felix Diaz and Julius Indongo, he was having great difficulty making the 140-pound limit. Crawford gave up all five of his super lightweight titles to move up.
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?I know that he was struggling to make 140,? Arum told BoxingScene. ?He had really a big problem making it for the last fight with Indongo, although it didn?t look like that in the ring. But I know that there was a question up until the actual weigh-in whether he would make weight. And he still fought the way that he did. He?s an incredible talent.? Arum hopes to let Crawford fight against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in what Arum considers the best welterweight fight possible.
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Arum believes Crawford can perform better now than in his previous weight because he won?t find it hard to make weight as a 147-pounder. ?I really believe that,? Arum said. ?Trust me, he had to struggle. When he went from 135 to 140, it was easy. Then, as you get older, it?s tougher and tougher to shed those pounds. So I think he?ll be much stronger and certainly much happier at 147.? Crawford is expected to face the winner of Jeff Horn-Gary Corcoran WBO welterweight championship.
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Former unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko disclosed that he almost announced his decision to fight IBF, IBO, and WBA world champion Anthony Joshua in a rematch. Instead, Klitschko announced his retirement from boxing after suffering two consecutive losses. At the twilight of his colorful career at age 40 years old, he believed it was the right moment to depart from the sport he loved so much. It was a difficult decision to skip the rematch for Klitschko.
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"It was the most difficult decision," Klitschko told Tony Mogan of IB Times UK. "But I am so happy. You couldn't know about it before whether you will be happy with your decision, you know about it later on when your decision is made, a couple of months after whether it was right or wrong. I would say it was right. I did maybe an illogical thing. But I stepped out on my terms. Not any else's. But my terms. I think my stock went up, not down. And I was surprised that was possible."
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Before a crowd of 90,000 fans at Wembley in London last April, Joshua floored Klitschko in the fifth round. But the Ukrainian rallied in the same round and dropped the British world champ in the sixth. Klitschko dominated the fight in the following rounds, but Joshua retaliated in the next successive rounds to knock Klitschko down twice in the eleventh canto, forcing the referee to stop the fight. Klitschko hopes Joshua keeps winning, now with a record of 20-0 with 20 KOs.
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"I wish for him to win in any other fight that comes up because the more he wins, the more I shine. Because if I lose, I am going to lose to the best man, I just want to be proud of that. He is carrying the flag accordingly," Klitschko said. "If I were able to rewind time back and have influence over the decision, for example if I knocked him out in the sixth round and won the titles back, it would have been nice for my ego. And my ego is big. It would be nice. But I would never change it. I am where I am right now."
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On December 9, WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) will defend his title against Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), WBA & lineal super bantamweight champion, at The Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York City. "It will be a big battle for boxing fans and boxing history. This battle will open our maximum potential. It will be the best New Year's present for boxing fanatics. Trust me on this one," Lomachenko said.
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"I'm thrilled to be part of this historic fight on ESPN because I've had my eye on fighting Vasyl Lomachenko for a long time. I've had my eye on fighting Vasyl Lomachenko for a long time. Weight classes don't win fights, fighters do. And I look forward to delivering the best performance of my career, beating a fellow legendary Olympian in Lomachenko and solidifying my place as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of this era," Rigondeaux said.
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"I am excited about Vasyl stepping back in the ring before the year is over. It is a great fight for all boxing lovers and the fans from around the world who asked for it. It is a historic bout for boxing, where for the first time two boxers, two world champions, each holding two Olympic gold medals, will meet in the professional ring. I am looking forward to seeing it," said Egis Klimas, Lomachenko's manager. Roc Nation Sports promoter Michael Yormark makes the histotic event possible.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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