Paco Valcarcel Suggests Tszyu vs Thurman Winner Gets Crawford
WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel is hinting that unified welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (40-0, 31KO) will move up to fight the winner between WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu (24-0, 17KO) and Keith “One Time” Thurman (31-1, 22KO).
Social media was buzzing with rumors of Bud no longer being obligated to fight Errol Spence Jr. in a rematch. He first hinted at the fight not happening after Spence revealed getting surgery to remove cataracts from his eye.
Crawford was trying to land a fight with the undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. However, he was quickly dismissed by Canelo, who expressed having no interest in the fight.
A TITLE FIGHT IN A FOURTH DIVISION POSSIBLY NEXT
So, where does that leave Crawford? This is where Tszyu and Thurman come into the picture. While speaking with FightHype, the WBO President claims to have been speaking with the unified champion.
“The winner of that fight [Tszyu vs Thurman] will have a tough cookie for his next mandatory. Let me tell you, Crawford will be here next week . . . We’re going to talk about that fight.”
Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel
Paco acknowledged that there have been ongoing conversations with the unified champion, but wasn’t able to reveal what exactly they were about. This is something that boxing pundits believed would be the next move for Crawford if he wants to collect a sizable payday.
It was last reported that Tszyu vs Thurman would be at a 155-pound catchweight, with Tszyu’s belt not in contention. Is Paco now hinting that Thurman may, in truth, be allowed to walk away with the WBO title, if victorious? That is the only scenario where Crawford could be named mandatory based on the winner. Otherwise, it could only be Tszyu.
BOOTS LOSES AGAIN?
The fans who want to see him fight IBF champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis will not be happy hearing this. However, Bud fighting either Thurman or Tszyu for a title in a fourth division would benefit his resume and bank account.
With Crawford being the super champion at welterweight, he would skip the line and go straight to possibly fighting for the title next. It’s going to be interesting to see how fans that want to see him fight Boots will respond to this news.
