Crawford made a strong case as a potential foe for the Filipino sports icon after he stopped Dierry Jean in 10 rounds over the weekend.
“If that fight happens, it will probably be at 140,” boxing promoter Bob Arum said in Boxing Scene. The promoter said the fight would likely be for the WBO junior welterweight crown. Arum added that Pacquiao will have no problems making the weight as he is a small 147- pounder.
“Manny is coming in at 144 lbs. but he has to eat five meals a day in order to keep his weight up,” he explained. “He’s most comfortable at 140, so I have to imagine it will be for Terence’s title.”
The last time Pacquiao fought as a juniorwelterweight was in May 2009 when he knocked out Ricky Hatton in just two rounds.
Arum added that Crawford has certainly passed the “audition” by patiently picking apart Jean.
“He showed a lot of skill, a lot of smarts, and a lot of patience,” he said in another Boxing Scene report. “It showed that a fight with Pacquiao would be a hellacious type of fight.”
However, a boxing analyst described Crawford as a high risk-low reward fight for Pacquiao. Andreas Hale added that the fight could also turn out as a stepping stone for Crawford who has yet to make himself a household name.
“The riskis extremelyhigh for Pacquiao considering that Crawford is an extraordinarily accurate puncher with power in both hands. However, a fight against Pacquiao would be a massive step up in competition for Crawford, and there’s no telling whether Bud would be able to thwart Pacquiao’s advances, which are unlike any other opponent he’s faced,” Hale said in Yahoo Sports .
“The biggest drawback is that Crawford is still building his clout with a mainstream audience and won’t bring much to the table as far as generating PPV buys.”(abscbn)