72°F
weather icon Windy

Terence Crawford returns to Las Vegas to defend welterweight title

Terence “Bud” Crawford last fought in Las Vegas on June 9, 2018. As a welterweight debutante with his sights set on pound-for-pound supremacy.

He fights in Las Vegas again Saturday, this time as the class of the welterweight division. With the WBO title to his name, three successful title defenses to his record and an insatiable desire to dominate whoever stands in his way.

By any means necessary.

“If the knockout is there, of course I’m going to go out there and take it,” said Crawford, who has stopped each of his last five opponents. “But if it’s not, then like I said before, we’re prepared for 12 rounds.”

Crawford, arguably boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter, will defend his title against veteran Englishman Kell Brook inside Top Rank’s bubble in the MGM Grand’s Grand Ballroom, the champion’s first fight since December.

Crawford, 36-0 with 27 knockouts and a three-division champion, is eager to make another statement that he — and not Canelo Alvarez or Errol Spence — is the baddest man in boxing.

“He wants to fight everybody, and we’ve been lining it up,” Top Rank president Todd DuBoef said. “The burden is on everyone else to fight him. He’s the king. … It’s been a real honor for all of us at Top Rank to create the body of work that we’ve had with Terence and to see the worldwide recognition as the king of the sport.”

Crawford’s reign as champion began in 2014 with a unanimous decision over Ricky Burns for the WBO lightweight championship. He successfully defended the title twice before moving up to junior lightweight, a division in which he would unify all four titles by knocking out Julius Indongo on Aug. 19, 2017 — thus becoming the undisputed champion.

Then came the transition to welterweight, a division he christened at the MGM Grand with a technical knockout over Jeff Horn. Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan and Egidijus Kavaliauskas have since tried to dethrone Crawford.

All three failed, succumbing to Crawford’s extraordinary combination of skill and power.

“I’ve seen it at all,” said Crawford, 33. “I’m not focused on what Kell Brook brings to the table, because I’m going to adjust to whatever he does.”

Brook, 34, has been brash during the promotion, claiming Crawford has never faced anyone of his caliber. He is a former welterweight world champion, having beaten Las Vegan Shawn Porter for the IBF title in 2014. But consecutive knockout losses to Gennady Golovkin and Spence have tarnished what was once a spotless record.

“I’ve been here before. I’ve been on this stage,” said Brook (39-2, 27 KOs). “I’ve been in there with pound-for-pound top fighters like Golovkin and Errol Spence. … I know what it takes to be champion.”

But so does Crawford, who can effortlessly shift from southpaw to orthodox. From boxer to puncher. From lightweight to junior welterweight to welterweight champion.

The malleability is what makes the Omaha, Nebraska, native so unique and unbeatable.

“I’ve always felt that I’m No. 1 pound-for-pound in the world,” Crawford said. “This is what I do.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.

THE LATEST
Mike Tyson to fight Jake Paul in Netflix event

Social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium, Netflix announced Thursday.