OMAHA, NEBRASKA — In what he claims will be his last appearance at lightweight, WBO titlist Terence Craford delivered a technical showpiece performance against Ray Beltran by nearly shutting out the veteran challenger at Century Link Center.
In just two fights, Crawford has dispelled the myth that technical fighters, specifically those of African-American descent, cannot become ticket-sellers without utilizing obnoxious personas. The epitome of mild-mannered and quiet, Crawford’s talking is done in the ring and the Omaha native had lots to say in 2014.
BELTRAN HAS NO ANSWERS: Ray Beltran has rarely been an “easy out” for any fighter. He began Ricky Burns’ downward spiral last year by breaking his jaw in a fight most believe he won easily (Beltran had to settle for a draw). But last night, the hardened vet had no answers for Crawford’s skill. The champ switch-hit seamlessly and kept Beltran guessing with an educated jab and sharp left hands. The times that Beltran did land flush with counter right hooks, he had no time to admire his work as Crawford would pounce with quick combinations, eliciting roars of approval from his fans.
Beltran was never close to getting KO’d outside of what appeared to be a knee taken in the 10th (was questionably ruled a slip), but the 33-year old contender looked very discouraged in the championship rounds (to go along with the angry mouse under his right eye from Crawford’s left hands). Crawford’s dominance was reflected in the scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice.
FIGHTER OF THE YEAR?: Right off the bat, Crawford’s 2014 has been stronger than nearly all the fighters ranked in the mythical P4P Top 10. Mayweather (Maidana 2X) and Pacquiao’s (Bradley, Algieri) pale in comparison to Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Ray Beltran in terms in opponent quality and style variety. Wladimir Klitschko dispatched a top contender in Kubrat Pulev, but his only other outing this year was a gimme bout against a completely overmatched Alex Leapai. Others like Andre Ward, Juan Manuel Marquez, Guillermo Rigondeaux and Tim Bradley have suffered from lack of opponents, inactivity or losses.
The only realistic challenge to Crawford winning would be Roman Gonzalez, who crashed most people’s lists by destroying Akira Yaegashi in September. While Crawford’s work has been much more visible to fans this year due to HBO coverage, it’s tough to pick against Gonzalez when considering he won a major title in his third weight class this year.
A PACQUIAO SHOWDOWN?: If all this talk about Mayweather-Pacquiao in May 2015 is another smokescreen (and it likely is), then Manny Pacquiao will be in dire need of a credible opponent. Out of the in-house possibilities, Crawford has made the strongest case. He has signature wins, dominated his weight-class, and has shown he can be main event attraction. He sure has more credibility than Jessie Vargas, who Top Rank has been pushing (in vain) for the past year.
Crawford came into last night over 150 pounds, so he has the frame to face Pacquiao at 140. But can he handle the speed and power?
GRADOVICH AND VELEZ BATTLE TO DUBIOUS DRAW: The co-feature was a good fight mired by a head-scratching conclusion in Evgeny Gradvoich settling for a draw to retain his IBF featherweight title over Jayson Velez. In his first title opportunity, Velez showcased his toughess by maintaining a high workrate in spite of the pressure seige Gradovich began around the fourth round. Gradvocich clearly landed the harder shots, especially during the inside exchanges, and really put a stamp on the fight in the final rounds with Velez also doing well in isolated spots.
The old “harder punches vs. higher workrate” argument reared its head in the divergent scores of 117-111 Gradovich, 115-113 Velez and 114-114. A rematch would be welcome as both fighters competed hard in every round. Far as strategy goes, Gradovich did a lot of head-hunting and will need to refocus on his usual body-attack if he hopes to slow down Velez’s pace.
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 