Terence Crawford?s next proposed fight would by far be his toughest test yet.
The pound-for-pound boxer and junior welterweight champ is on a collision course with fellow 140-pound belt holder Viktor Postol for a summer unification showdown at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
There?s no deal yet, but talks are in the advanced stages and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum ? who promotes both fighters ? is optimistic.
?We don?t have a signed contract, but everyone is acting in good faith,? Arum told USA TODAY Sports. ?It will get done. I think it?s a terrific fight, the two best junior welterweights in the world by far.?
UPCOMING HBO FIGHT: Lomachenko-Martinez on June 11
A fight like this would normally headline HBO World Championship Boxing, but the network has faced budget problems, and this bout surely would command a large license fee. So Arum is doing the only thing he can: assuming the risk and putting it on pay-per-view.
It?s a hard sell with two guys unknown to casual boxing fans. Crawford, 28, is a mainstay with regular viewers of the sport but would need a worthy dance partner. Postol isn?t it.
Arum, though, wants to keep his fighters active.
?Anytime you do pay-per-view, if fans don?t support it, that?s the nature of business,? Arum said of the substantial risk. ?Terence wants to fight three times a year; Postol is looking for a big fight.
?So we have to do what we have to do. Obviously my preference would be to do it on HBO, but that?s not in the cards now.?
The matchup will pit BoxingJunkie?s top two 140-pounders in a fight that should feature Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) as a slight favorite. It?s also an interesting clash of styles. The Omaha, Neb., native is a quick, switch-hitting fighter with power in both hands. He?s also regarded for his patience in the ring and ability to finish.
Postol, a native of Ukraine, is rangy at 5-foot-11 (three inches on Crawford) has a strong jab and can punch, too.
Viktor Postol celebrates after knocking down Lucas Matthysse in their October 2015 fight in Carson, California. (Getty Images)
The 32-year-old authored a knockout of the year candidate with a one-punch eraser of Selcuk Aydin in May 2014. Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) won the WBC title with an upset of Lucas Matthysse in October, another knockout.
?We?re very close, we?re finalizing some things right now,? Postol?s manager, Vadim Kornilov, told USA TODAY Sports. He added that money isn?t an issue.
Kornilov?s other fighter, Ruslan Provodnikov, was in talks to face Crawford, but the Siberian Rocky signed a deal with Showtime and will face John Molina on June 11. That opened the door for Crawford-Postol.
?All these problems with HBO not being able to put up the money for these ? and they?re good fights ? I think Bob is doing the right thing (with PPV). He?s trying to make this fight happen. He?s taking a risk, but at the end of the day, he?s making a fight people want to see.?
?Maybe Postol?s not a big star yet to do a million buys, but at the end of the day I think it?s the right thing to do.?
Crawford, the universally regarded No. 1 140-pounder in the world, defended his WBO title successfully for the second time with a fifth-round KO of Hank Lundy in February.
Crawford was on the short list to face Manny Pacquiao in April but was passed up for good friend Timothy Bradley.
One silver lining to putting this fight on PPV: It opens up exposure for Top Rank?s large stable of prospects.
?We?re going to use these undercard slots for really good fights that feature our fighter like we did on the Pacquiao-Bradley undercard,? Arum said.
Oscar Valdez, who impressed with a blowout of Evgeny Gradovich on that card, is a ?real possibility? to appear on the July 23 show, according to Arum.
