Top Rank has confirmed that unbeaten recent undisputed junior welterweight champion and pound for pound elite Terence Crawford will officially be moving to welterweight. This was the expected move. What was less expected was the WBO naming him as Jeff Horn’s mandatory challenger.
Terence Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) versus Jeff Horn (17-0-1, 11 KOs) is a reasonable introduction for Crawford to the division. There are two locations this fight could make money, whether it be in Australia or in Nebraska. Crawford would be heavily favored and it makes sense as an avenue for Top Rank to put a belt on him. All in all this could be worse.
Yet, for me, it is a little disappointing that it is the WBO doing this. Potential downright amazing fights with unified WBA/WBC titleholder Keith Thurman and IBF titlist Errol Spence would be much harder to make politically in the current boxing landscape given that they are Al Haymon fighters. Top Rank has already worked with Horn and would have been able to make this fight without the mandatory declaration. Being named either Thurman or Spence’s mandatory was basically the only opportunity we had to see one of those fights any time soon. Now it is even less likely.
Reportedly Jeff Horn will only have ninety days in which to fight Crawford following his upcoming optional defense against Gary Corcoran. The current soft date for that fight is December 13th, but it could still change.
