World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Terence Crawford, not middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Gennadyevich Golovkin, is it.
Top Rank chief Bob Arum said Crawford would be the ideal fight for eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao rather than the Triple G, who is way “too big” for the fighting senator.
“Golovkin[‘s weight] is ridiculous. It’s way, way too heavy. Golovkin can probably not make it [lower than] 160 [pounds], so Manny will be giving him 20 pounds. Golovkin is way too big for Manny,” Arum toldThe Manila Times in an overseas call on Thursday.
Pacquiao’s former head trainer and now consultant Freddie Roach first introduced the “dream fight” to DAZN’s “Boxing with Chris Mannix” last week.
Golovkin is the defending International Boxing Federation and International Boxing Organization middleweight titleholder. The 38-year-old fighter from Kazakhstan has a win-loss-draw record of 40-1-1 with 35 knockouts.
He defeated Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Oct. 5, 2019 via unanimous decision for the two vacant titles in Madison Square Garden in New York.
But Arum said Crawford, his top fighter with a 36-0 record with 27 knockouts, was more suitable.
“It’s [going to be] a blockbuster, just like Manny’s big fights in the past,” said Arum, noting the bout might possibly take place late this year or by next year somewhere in the Middle East, Australia or Macau.
Arum, however, said a fight between Crawford and Pacquiao would be the kind that would need spectators.
He said he could only lobby the unbeaten 32-year-old Crawford to the 41-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2 record with 39 knockouts) when the coronavirus pandemic was under control.
“Well it depends. Right now, it is difficult to make arrangements for big fights because we don’t know when they will allow spectators. But again, once I clarify this up…I’ll go ahead and try to make that fight, finish it up, because I think it will be an interesting fight. After the pandemic, [that is],” he explained.
Crawford told Brian Custer of “The Last Stand Podcast” recently that his “next fight should be against Pacquiao.”
Meanwhile, Arum informed The Manila Times that the Top Rank’s ESPN main event junior welterweight bout between Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre has been called off after LesPierre’s manager Jose Tavares was tested positive for Covid-19 — on Friday before the fight.
This is the second time that another individual tested for Covid-19 in Top Rank’s boxing show after female boxer Mikaela Mayer last June 8.
