SAN DIEGO, February 27, 2016 ? Super lightweight Terence Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) had little trouble with Hank Lundy of Philadelphia (26-6-1, 13 KOs) of Philadelphia, stopping Lundy for only the second time in his professional career.
The pride of Omaha, Nebraska made his debut at the Theater at Madison Square Garden and put on a clinic against the tough Lundy. Crawford demonstrated his ability to be patient, waiting for the opportunity to unleash his power punches when he can make them count.
Lundy came to fight, and landed clean shots on Crawford in the first round. Crawford is never one to panic, and came out in the second round ready to go to work. He switched to the southpaw stance, a favorite tactic, and as it does with many of his opponents, it threw Lundy off and kept him on the outside. When Crawford switches back, it renders the opponent unable to close any distance, never knowing when Crawford might switch again. The result: a full plate of jabs, served ice cold.
Lundy never gave in, even when Crawford opened up a cut over his left eye. He came to fight. By the fifth round, Crawford brought his own hammer down on Hammering Hank. Crawford set up with a right jab, landing a left hook, and he punctuated it with a second left hook tossing Lundy on the ropes into the corner and down to the canvas. Lundy beat the count, but Crawford wasted no time getting Lundy back against the ropes and unleashing a barrage of punches from all directions. Referee Steve Willis wisely called a stop to the bout.
Crawford landed 89 of 247 punches (36 percent), including eight jabs per round which is double the average for lightweights. Lundy landed 47 of 211 punches (22 percent), and they were not of the same quality as Crawford?s output.
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Crawford and Lundy made no secret of their dislike for each other before the fight, but after it was in the books, their feud cooled down. Lundy offered the olive branch, telling Crawford ?Much love, good fight.?
?Lundy and I have been back and forth on Twitter for about a year. I just wanted to shut him up,? Crawford said. ?You never wanna really hurt somebody so they can?t go home to their family. It?s a business.?
Crawford took great satisfaction in being one of just two opponents to stop Lundy as a professional.? Hank has only been stopped one time in his career. For me to stop him is a big statement.?
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum was elated with the results, and says he has big plans for Crawford with a summertime bout in Los Angeles, possibly at the Forum. Opponents could include former junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, which would be a fan friendly fight. A title unification with Ukrainian Viktor Postol is likely in the cards, eventually if not right away. Speaking for the SoCal fans, we?d love to see you out our way, Bud. Felix Verdejo (right) struggled to land anything meaningful on a slippery William Silva of Brazil, but nevertheless won a unanimous decision Saturday. Photo: Mikey WIlliams, Top Rank
Puerto Rican rising star Felix Verdejo (20-0-0, 14 KOs) generated little excitement in his unanimous decision victory over William Silva (23-1, 14 KOs) of Brazil. Verdejo won all but a single round on one judge?s scorecards for the near shutout. No surprise, as Silva wasn?t even ranked among the top 100 lightweights in the world. It was fight meant to please the Puerto Rican fans. It didn?t really achieve this goal other than on the scorecards.
Verdejo said after the fight Silva?s ?uncomfortable? style made it hard for him to engage. ?He moved a lot and it made it tough to land any kind of punches on him, but it?s a good step in my career and a great experience, so we take it and keep moving forward,? said Verdejo. ?God willing, God permits, you?ll see me again in April.? Here?s hoping Verdejo gets an opponent who can make it more enjoyable to watch next time.
Gayle Lynn Falkenthal, APR, is President/Owner of the Falcon Valley Group in San Diego, California. She is also a serious boxing fan covering the Sweet Science for Communities. Read more Ringside Seat in Communities Digital News. Follow Gayle on Facebook and on Twitter @PRProSanDiego. Gayle can be reached via Google +
