Terence Crawford and Josh Taylor display clear mutual respect
In terms of his interactions with the media, it certainly seems that WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KO’s) has turned a corner. It was not long ago that the gifted switch-hitting bruiser held a substandard rapport with reporters. When queried by the press, oftentimes Crawford maintained tighter lips than a seasoned gangster on the witness stand. While the change in behavior has been slowly manifesting over time, Bud should be at particular ease now.
For starters, he is coming off arguably the biggest win of his career. Rationally speaking, becoming the undisputed lightweight champion of the world, as he did on August 19, 2017, would eclipse a standard title defense. Yet, that standard title defense, versus “Showtime” Shawn Porter, was against someone that most considered to be his toughest foe to date. Not only this, Crawford controlled Porter like no other boxer and managed to be the first person to ever stop him. Even more dramatic, Showtime retired immediately after the bout. So, not only can Bud say he beat Porter by stoppage, he can lay claim to literally ending his career.
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
Of course, the boxing populace still eagerly wants to see Crawford test this might versus IBF and WBC welterweight champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. Yet, Spence already has his hands full with a significant unification bout with WBA super 147-pound champion Yordenis Ugas. Another great selection would be, ironically enough, undisputed super lightweight champion Josh “The Tartan Tornado” Taylor. Even better, Taylor has expressed his desire to dance with Bud at great length.
When standing with one another, at a recent function, Crawford and Taylor kibitzed as if they were longtime friends. Naturally, when questioned about how a showdown between them would play out, Bud was swift in claiming victory. Outside of the loose smack talk however, the two fighters cheerfully traded stories about boxing.
“I’m fucking him up, I already told him! I’m fucking him up!”
EDGE OF A NEW DAY?
Even though they are not likely to fight next, or very soon, its great to see Crawford and Taylor rubbing shoulders as they were. It’s also great to see this new, more relaxed and approachable Bud. Ideally this will translate into more significant prizefights getting penned for the WBO champion. Yet, so long as everything maintains the current course, Crawford should logically be staging a fight for undisputed with the winner of Spence versus Ugas in 2022. In the end though, as always, we’ll just have to see how it plays out.
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By: Bakari Simpson
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