Crawford?s promoter (and I use that term very loosely), Bob Arum, seems to have officially stopped caring about getting him real exposure?
Terence Crawford is the all-around best fighter in the world today. And even if you insist on being wrong about judging boxing talent, Crawford is no worse than no. 3 on any sane, logical list of the sport?s best fighters.
In a perfect world, the uniquely skilled boxer-puncher from Omaha, Nebraska would be a mainstream star. In this imperfect world, he should at least be a high-drawing boxing star, capable of selling PPVs and generating seven-figure TV ratings.
This is not the case, however. As a matter of fact, his promoter (and I use that term very loosely), Bob Arum, seems to have officially stopped caring about getting him real exposure.
The decision to put Crawford?s welterweight debut June 9 against WBO titlist Jeff Horn on ESPN?s new streaming app and not on the main ESPN platform is blatant disrespect and a virtual crotch shot to Crawford and his career earning potential.
Yes, Crawford is bound by the decision he made to allow Arum to promote him. And, yes, promotional stablemate Manny Pacquiao?s flat-out refusal to even acknowledge his existence is a big reason Crawford has not been able to springboard to next-level fame and fortune.
But one would think that Arum and his team at Top Rank would?ve had some sort of back-up plan for the very real possibility that Pacquiao might not willingly want to pass the torch to someone who could potentially mop the canvas with him. They also could be less stubborn about their usual fixation on keeping fights and fighters ?in house.? Crawford could be earning big money fighting the likes of Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and eventually Errol Spence and Keith Thurman?and he has a solid chance of beating them all. He would certainly be more of an earner and asset to the company fighting ?out of house? than by taking on a paper champion for a small audience on a new subscription-based streaming service.
The promise of mainstream exposure energized the boxing world when it was first announced that Arum would be pulling his talent away from the premium cable HBO paywall system and over to basic cable ESPN. Al Haymon?s Premier Boxing Champions project, for various odd and ugly reasons, had been slammed mercilessly for an even bolder push to the mainstream, but the Arum deal was almost universally well-received. Finally, guys like Crawford and Lomachenko would be getting some attention outside of the niche boxing market?or so the boxing world assumed.
That push has been there for Lomachenko, who?s growing fame is being leveraged into a big May 12 bout with Jorge Linares. Meanwhile, Crawford, who delivered solid ratings in his debut ESPN showcase against Julius Indongo in a four-belt junior welterweight unification last August, is getting pushed to smaller waters.
And even if Crawford beats Horn to the delight of a few thousand (maybe a few hundred) hardcore fans, where does he go from there? There?s nobody lined up for him, no real competition within the Top Rank family, and his marketability will be diminished from having performed on a fringe streaming service after nearly 10 months of inactivity.
In general, this is not a good time to be an American boxer. American fight fans are just not embracing their own. One could understand the fan indifference when guys like Andre Berto and Devon Alexander were ?names? who failed to deliver on big promise. Even skilled fighters like Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward were dismissible as acquired tastes. But the US scene right now is packed with fan-friendly fighters, who do, indeed, put on the type of aggression-based fights fans claim to crave. And a guy like Crawford?who is supremely skilled but is also offense-minded and a fierce finisher?would seem to be precisely the type of fighter Americans love.
An overall stagnant domestic fan base has put Crawford in a bad spot and the jaded, fickle fans seem stuck on investing their time and money on simpler, more exotic brutes. And it sure doesn?t help that those entrusted with promoting Crawford seem to have stopped trying to actually promote him.
At 30 years of age and with the window slowly closing on his physical prime, Terence Crawford has to step up and figure out a way to take full control of his career. Those who are currently in charge of his career path are taking him down the road to nowhere.
