MANILA, Philippines ? WBC and WBO super lightweight champion Terence Crawford claims he is the best fighter of the year.
The 29-year-old rising star took to Twitter to express his desire to be named the 2016 Fighter of the Year.
Crawford (30-0, with 20 KOs) is banking on three impressive wins this year. He opened 2016 by stopping Henry Lundy in five rounds in their February fight. He followed that up by outpointing Viktor Postol, a former sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao, in July.
But the Omaha, Nebraska-based fighter?s best performance came just this month when he knocked John Molina Jr. out after eight one-sided rounds. Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
He later called out Pacquiao for a fight sometime next year.
Crawford?s amazing year, however, took a minor setback when he was sentenced to 90 days in jail for his involvement in an altercation at a car repair shop in April. His conviction came just five days after he defeated Molina.
The boxer was freed on a $10,000 bail later that same day.
Crawford is one of two Top Rank young stars being groomed to face Pacquiao, who plans to fight twice next year. Ukrainian sensation Vasyl Lomachenko can likewise get a crack at the Filipino icon.
Pacquiao has yet to name an opponent for his first fight of 2017.
