WBO welterweight king the world, Terence “Bud” Crawford, scored another one-sided victory last night against one of the most high-profile welterweights in the world, Amir Khan.
But it wasn’t the kind of ending that Crawford (35-0, 26 KO’s) may have preferred.
Inside of Madison Square Garden, and fighting on ESPN pay per view, Crawford won via a very unusual circumstance, as Khan couldn’t continue from an apparent low blow in the sixth crowd.
14,091 spectators were in the building and they admittedly would have wanted more from this matchup. Crawford was in control early, scoring a knockdown in the first round that had Khan a bit shook up. Amir was never able to get on track and many felt he was looking for an easy way out after getting hit low in round six, as he elected not to take the full five minutes rest time that was warranted for him.
Khan is a credible opponent, having captured a 2004 silver medal as well as a title at junior welterweight. This was his first loss at 147 pounds.
Crawford continues to move forward and makes it no secret who he is eyeing next.
“The fight I want next is Errol Spence,” Crawford said. “Whenever he is ready he can come and get it.”
Spence, the IBF welterweight champion of the world, defeated Mikey Garcia last month in Dallas, Texas in a one-sided fight. The only problem that a Crawford vs. Spence fight has is that the two promotional sides don’t often work together. Crawford is promoted by Top Rank while Spence fights under Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions circuit.
“We want to fight Errol Spence. Everyone wants the fight. There is one guy stopping it, and that is Al Haymon,” said Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who has been very vocal about the Crawford vs. Spence fight in the press.
Khan (33-5, 20 KOs) can still hold his head high despite his loss. He has fought a vast array of champions, including the likes of Danny Garcia, Lamont Peterson, Luis Collazo, Canelo Alvarez, Devon Alexander, and many others.
“I now know why Terence is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world,” Khan said afterwards.
At the post-fight press conference, Crawford got a little personal with Khan, even asking him what happened at the end of their fight.
“I would never quit. I would rather be knocked out. I’ve been knocked out because I’ve tried to win fights,” Khan said, only to be interrupted by Crawford moments later.
“You didn’t quit?” he asked, giving Khan a cold stare. “Tell the truth. What happened?”
Khan than said he was hit “in the balls” and even told the press that he had “no problem” with anyone thinking he quit.
This fight is now in the past. The real question is how long until we have to wait for Crawford vs. Spence to happen.