ESPN 1030 ET Saturday Night
-This Saturday night we get a chance to see, in my opinion, the second best pound for pound fighter in the world, welterweight champion Terrance Crawford. Better yet, the fight is on ESPN which opens it up to millions more fans than used to be the case when fights like this were on HBO or even pay per view. This is the new trend in boxing, putting big fights on free tv or streaming services such as DAZN that are a low monthly cost. This should be an interesting and competitive fight in my opinion.
Crawford is only behind Lomachenko in the pound for pound ratings in my opinion and he obviously is a very special fighter. I would take him to beat any welterweight in the world right now and that includes Errol Spence, Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter. He has gradually moved up in weight from 135 and seems to keep getting better and better. A pretty good puncher along with a very solid chin, good defense and a very versatile offensive attack have made him become a special fighter. He has beaten very solid competition along the way although he has yet to have that super fight which could push him to superstardom. The opponents are there, the promoters just need to make it happen.
As for Benavidez, I think he is a very live fighter and will be competitive, at least for the first half of the fight. Crawford is somewhat of a slow starter who takes his time building up his offense until he figures you out and then he picks up his aggressiveness. Benavides is a big welter, 6 foot 2 and has a lot of knockouts. His level of competition has not been great although he does own a good win over Mauricio Herrera, a guy who gives everyone a tough time. The good news is he has done what you are supposed to do if you are fighting inferior competition, which is compile a lot of early knockouts. Benavidez is young, fresh , physically imposing and most importantly believes he can win. I know that sounds silly but you would be surprised how many fighters go into fights acting like they are coming to fight but once the bell rings they go into survival mode. I don’t think that will happen here.
Prediction-
Because of Crawford traditionally being a slow starter and Benavidez being a big strong welter who comes to fight I would not be surprised at all if this is a very competitive fight for 6 rounds, maybe even longer. It takes time for Crawford to figure his opponents out but once he does he turns it up and becomes a special fighter. Benavidez is a big puncher but Crawford has shown a strong chin. I think it will be tough for Crawford to get a stoppage here and Benavidez has gone 12 before so he can handle the distance. For these reasons I expect a fun fight but one that Crawford will pull away with in the later rounds. A late stoppage is possible but I think will be tough to do.
Crawford by Decision
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