WBO welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 38-0 (29) has hosed down speculation he could face undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor 18-0 (13) any time soon.
The 34-year-old southpaw from Omaha, Nebraska scored an impressive 10th round knockout of ‘Showtime’ Shawn Porter 31-4-1 (17) in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Porter had never been stopped before.
Sitting at ringside was WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF 140-pound champion Taylor, who is scheduled to defend his belts against mandatory challenger Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall 26-0 (13) in Glasgow, Scotland in February.
The 30-year-old Scottish southpaw’s appearance at ringside prompted speculation that promoter Top Rank could be positioning him for a move up in weight to face Crawford.
“Down the road, maybe we can visit that fight, but right now he’s got business to take care of. After that, then who knows?” Crawford told Sky Sports.
“But right now he’s at 140[lbs], I’m at 147 and I’m looking at unification fights and therefore we’re on different paths right now, until we meet up.”
Taylor was impressed by what he saw from Crawford.
“A brilliant performance. It kind of unfolded the way I thought it was going to unfold,” Taylor told Sky Sports.
“I knew it was going to be tough for Crawford in there.
“I only gave Crawford one or two of the early rounds, but he started finding his range. He started catching him as he was coming in. Walking him onto a shot like I said he maybe would.”
After the fight Crawford indicated he would be leaving his longtime promoter Top Rank, which could make a fight against Taylor difficult to make as the undisputed champion is signed to the Las Vegas powerhouse.
Taylor said he wasn’t focused on the possibility of a fight against Crawford with the Catterall fight fast approaching.
“No, I don’t know really,” Taylor said of the mooted Craford bout. “I’m sort of forgetting about all this at the minute. I’ve got my own fight to focus on, which is Jack Catterall and it’s a very big fight, a very big risk, so I’m focusing on that.
“We’ll see how the fight goes and after it, then we can talk about these discussions and see what’s happening.
“But yeah it is very exciting. It’s a very exciting prospect, for sure.”
Three-weight world champion Crawford won his first world title in Taylor’s native Scotland when he lifted the WBO lightweight title from Ricky Burns in 2014.
“I wouldn’t say I have too many good memories, aside from becoming champion at that time,” Crawford said.
“It was definitely an experience. I was in hostile territory.
“I was the centre of attention, fighting against the hometown kid.
“There was a lot at stake. It was a hefty experience.”
