A boxer?s prime can come to a sudden end when he suffers a big loss. A tough fight can precipitate the inevitable decline of a fighter?
The perfect time for the collision of two fighters? stars is when those stars are at their brightest. But too often the light of both has begun to fade when the battle finally comes about. That is why a special thank you should be offered to Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol for doing what should always be done. Why is thanks necessary for two guys doing what they should be doing? Because this is a sport that allows people to avoid each other. This is a sport where the best can take separate paths and find equal levels of glory. There is no AFC champion vs. the NFC champion for the Super Bowl. Both men could run if they wanted to, and they haven?t.
Crawford and Postol have agreed to face each other this July, when both men are at their peak and clearly the two best men in the junior welterweight division. They are doing it now, when it should happen; not in eight years when both men have built their legends and lost their skills. There is risk in such a fight. A boxer?s prime can come to a sudden end when he suffers a big loss. A tough fight can precipitate the inevitable decline of a fighter.
It shouldn?t be that rare of an event to have two elite men in the same ring when both at their peak, but consider some battles throughout the decades. Marvin Hagler was not quite the same fighter he had been a few years before when Sugar Ray Leonard finally met him. Mike Tyson?s usefulness had long since run its course when he got in the ring with Lennox Lewis. And too many years had passed from when a fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather was first discussed and when it actually took place.
This is one the best fight that could be made throughout all divisions; equal to Kovalev vs. Ward. And certainly better than the recent $70 pay-per-view of Pacquiao vs. Bradley match, and more enticing than the coming PPV event between Saul Alvarez and Amir Khan. It won?t be the cultural event that the former show was and the latter will be. And maybe that?s a good thing. A battle between two great fighters shouldn?t depend on the media verifying the legitimacy of the conflict. People who know Viktor Postol and Terence Crawford know that both men need to meet.
The real threat to these fighters is that the loser could lose more than just the fight. He could lose a chance at greatness. In boxing the trajectory of a man?s fame is not always parallel to his ability. The fame tends to lag behind and only reveals itself when the skills have begun to sag. Often a fighter spends his best years earning the ?Name? and building the reputation. And that reputation becomes a veil behind which a fighter can hide his waning skills. He can pick and choose his opponents and just add to his growing accomplishments. With this fight, both Crawford and Postol risk the comfort of that eventual reputation.
Both are 28-0 with increasing credentials who have separated themselves from the rest of the men at 140 lbs. Both showcase an understanding of the sport that leads experts to think of artists, people who have learned the nuance of their specialty. They are remarkably comfortable in the ring. Crawford has a notable edge in knockouts, twenty to twelve. But in his previous fight, Postol showed that numbers don?t reveal everything when he stopped the immensely tough and experienced Lucas Matthysse.
Some would argue that there is little risk involved since a man is always respected for facing the best opponent he can face. But this isn?t tennis. Every fighter is potentially one beating away from never fighting again. It is true that both men could come out of this fight looking good. And it often happens that a fighter experiences a tough loss and then moves on to have a great career. But a man?s loss could become the excuse for lesser boxers to avoid him, claiming he?s not worthy. The loosing man could then spend his days searching for the chance to prove his worth again.
Postol and Crawford could knock off win after win and build simultaneous r?sum?s of perfection, the whole while keeping a fight against the other as a potential mega-battle. And it would stay there, dangling like the fruit of Tantalum for the hungry fans desperate for fulfillment. But their records would be false. They could play it safe and shoot down one unworthy opponent after another. They have chosen not to. And maybe it?s odd to praise men for doing what we all think they should do. But when so many fighters turn away from the chance to face the pristine opponent at the best time, praise is called for. Here?s wishing that their reputations and their exploits in the ring ride a parallel course.
