IT’S A pity that not many Filipino fans managed to watch a great boxing performance in the United States on Sunday which could’ve scored bigger ahead of the sold-out superbout between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Terence Crawford won a second world crown, the WBO junior welterweight (140 pounds) championship in Arlington, Texas.
The sixth-round stoppage of the big, power-hitting Thomas Dulorme of Puerto Rico could be the best championship performance of the year.
It has firmed up Crawford, who relinquished his world lightweight crown to campaign in a richer division, as a certified elite fighter.
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It was a daunting task for the shorter, leaner Crawford who got a thundering right to the head early in the match.
Writes Michael Woods of Sweet Science: “In the first, Dulorme came out cracking a right. Crawford looked to have the speedier jab. In the second, Crawford was patiently dissecting his foe with his eyes and mind. In the third, we saw the straight right lead working for Crawford. In the fourth, he sparked it up. He pressed, landed the right, punched through the target. In the sixth, down came the hammer. Dulorme went down three times and the referee said ‘no mas.’”
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“I worked so hard in training camp, I was ready for anything he gave tonight,” said Crawford, now 26-0 with 18 knockouts.
What stood out before and after the stoppage was the absence of an inflated ego.
Crawford did his task with no fanfare.
In the end, though, there was this gift of glowing nobility.
This is what boxing lives for.
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The 2014 Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year will surely get bigger assignments.
Premier promoter Bob Arum swore that Crawford is the next big thing.
He could be lined up against Lucas Matthysse, who scored a majority decision win over tough Ruslan Provodnikov.
Arum was also quoted as saying Crawford could be a possible foe for Pacquiao, either late this year or early in 2016.
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What remains to be seen, though, is if there would be a performance worthy of honest praise between Pacquiao and Mayweather on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Mayweather has been claiming Pacquiao’s raging challenge is sure to bring out the best in him.
There indeed is a promise of a memorable battle, maybe a remake of the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
However, if Freddie Roach’s presumption that Mayweather’s legs are gone, then it won’t be just a mismatch.
The superfight could also slip early into a supersham.