Following a so-so appetizer on the undercard, which included warmed-up leftovers of week-old Pacquiao-Algieri, the main course of Terence Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs) vs. Ray Beltran (29-7-1, 17 KOs) was served up to us Saturday night on HBO from the swanky kitchen of the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska. Billed as the slick jab-centric boxer vs. the plodding, pressure fighter from the heart of the nation?s breadbasket, chef ?Bud? Crawford put on a boxing clinic that whet the appetite of many inclined to sooner honor the WBO lightweight champion with a Fighter of the Year banquet of his own.
Omaha, named the ?Best-Bang-For-The-Buck-City? in America (Forbes), gave all 11,000 patrons their money?s worth, with Crawford whipping-up an artful boxing clinic for his salivating clientele. In his second title defense in front of the hometown crowd, the number one ranked lightweight boxer in the world appeared to satisfy his subdued but ravenous fans, sating their boxing appetites with hearty, generous, fundamentally sound portions of excellent foot speed, lateral movement, athletic skills, ring cunning, chin and heart. Seldom has a feast of boxing skills been so savoring, replete and fulfilling to watch. Even Warren Buffet got in on the appetizing act, with his timely pre-fight tips for HBO?s Jim Lampley on the whereabouts of his favorite local dishes.
Switching to southpaw early in the fight, Crawford kept the pesky but overmatched Beltran at the end of his rapier-like jab for the entire 12-round bout, carving up the right side of the Mexican?s face like so much salsa and Chorizo, while slipping punches and scoring with occasional hooks. In so doing, the Pride of Omaha mixed wily lateral movement with timely clinches and shifty maneuvering to stay off the ropes and at ring center, while neutralizing his game challenger time and again with a bevy of jabs and effective clinching. Despite Beltran?s efforts to close the strategic distance maintained by Crawford throughout, the champion?s foot speed, savvy and overall ring generalship kept his opponent from getting his feet set to unleash his powerful left hook. The handful of power punches Beltran did manage to land were absorbed well by the more talented and crafty Crawford. The outclassed Beltran simply had no answer for the elusive enigma that the champion posed.
All in all, the famished crowd was satisfied by the delightful fare laid out by Crawford, departing with their pugilistic palettes pleased and boxing bellies bulging. For chasers, copious belts of Beltran, and plenty of them, were the beverage of choice in this bout. As pure boxing feasts go, between Buffet, Buffer and Beltran, it was a beautiful boxing buffet. No small feat in this voracious ?Gateway to the West? city of gastronomical delights hard by the Missouri River, home of Ed Swanson (TV dinners), Duncan Hines (cake mix), Raisin Bran and the Reuben Sandwich.
For dessert, the fans were treated to the no-surprise announcement that their hometown hero looks to get bigger fights with bigger names (and bigger $) at 140 and eventually 147 lbs. 140 on up proves to be a tougher division for Crawford, who won?t match up well with Pacquiao, and will have a tougher time against the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov, and perhaps Chris Algieri.
Did I say Algieri? Strike that from Crawford?s main dish menu, pronto.
