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Terence Crawford faces Julius Indongo in a 140-pound title unification bout on August 19th, 2017 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Undisputed Champion
Terence Crawford has been on the brink of superstardom for quite some time now. But after failing to land a fight with Manny Pacquiao, Crawford now sets his sights on becoming the undisputed light welterweight champion. This is only the fourth time in history where the four major belts are on the line in one fight and the first one not involving Bernard Hopkins. Crawford first won the WBO belt by beating Ricky Burns and then captured the WBC strap by defeating Viktor Postol. Now he stakes both against an opponent who owns the other two major belts at 140 pounds.
Road Warrior
Indongo fought the first 20 bouts of his pro career in his native Namibia but has fought on the road in his last two bouts. Both have been world title bouts and both have been fought on his opponent’s home soil. Indongo knocked out Eduard Troyanovsky in Russia to win the IBF and IBO 140 pounds titles. Four months later, he traveled to the United Kingdom to unify the belts with WBA light welterweight belt. Indongo beat Ricky Burns by unanimous decision to become unified 140-pound champion. Now after achieving his dream to be unified champion, Indongo has a shot at immortality as he challenges unbeaten 140-pound superstar Terence Crawford for the WBO, WBC, Ring and lineal 140 pounds titles.
Can’t Underestimate
Crawford is the big favorite here at -1000 while Indongo is the understandable underdog at +600. All of us know who Terence Crawford is but this may be the first time you’ve heard of Julius Indongo. Even then, you can’t underestimate the challenger. He beat Troyanovsky in Russia and Burns in the United Kingdom. He’s a proven fighter whose awkward style can catch Terence Crawford off guard. Indongo is rangy and moves around the ring pretty well. He isn’t really known for his punching power but three of his last four bouts have ended in knockout, including the win over Troyanovsky.
Class By Himself
Bud Crawford, however, is in a class by himself at 140. He’s too smart to fall into Indongo’s traps and won’t be lured into a brawl. Crawford’s going to catch Indongo with his perfectly timed counters and hurt him at some point in the fight. Five of Bud’s last six bouts have ended in stoppage and it’s likely this one’s headed in that direction, too.
Indongo’s a worthy challenger but Bud Crawford’s too smart a boxer for him. Indongo has never faced an opponent at Crawford’s level. We think he’s pushing his luck too far here. We’re going to pick Terence Crawford to win by stoppage after round 6.
