Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol are about to embark on a life-altering mission. They headline an HBO pay-per-view card tonight with plenty at stake. According to an ESPN report, the winner of the Terence Crawford versus Viktor Postol fight, along with Jessie Vargas, will be in the running for a much larger payday. A Manny Pacquiao fight is looming large for whoever is victorious. But first things first. Crawford and Postol have to try to take each other out first.
The Terence Crawford versus Viktor Postol fight is that rare bout featuring two undefeated titleholders in the prime of their careers. Their fight will be a unification bout and for the right to call himself the lineal champion at 140 pounds.
Both Crawford and Postol boast 28-0 records. Terence Crawford has more knockouts, 20 to Postol’s 12. Neither fighter will rely on a knockout to finish a fight. Instead, they would rather outbox their opponents, and use the accumulation of punches to get their opposition out.
Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol are arguably the most skilled fighters in the 140-pound weight class. Prior to the retirements of Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr, both Crawford and Postol were regarded as possible heirs to the throne. Crawford, Postol and Jessie Vargas have the opportunity to take the mantle and run with it. That has been the case since the top two boxers in the weight class have moved on.
The fight tonight on HBO PPV would be a huge step forward for the winner. Freddie Roach, who trains Manny Pacquiao, thinks that his other fighter, Viktor Postol, will have his hand raised in victory.
Regardless who wins tonight, be it Terence Crawford or Viktor Postol, Freddie Roach does not see them, or Jessie Vargas, beating Manny Pacquiao.
“Jessie is coming off a good win in his last fight. He had a good KO. So he’s not an easy fight either. Manny is getting older, but he still is dedicated and trains really hard, and I like the way he looked in his last fight. I think he can beat any one of those guys.”
Roach would go on to suggest that whoever can beat Manny Pacquiao, could become the next pay-per-view star.
“I’d pick Postol, but I’d have to give him up. We’d make sure he’s in good hands, but the thing is, I would have to train Manny to beat him, and I think he can. I believe if Crawford fought Manny and pulled an upset, we might have a new pay-per-view star, and that’s what we need in boxing.”
Curious enough, the fighter with the inside knowledge on Manny Pacquiao is Viktor Postol. According to Yahoo Sports , Postol has sparred with the former champion .
Because he has that intimate knowledge on Pacquiao, Postol would be in line for a shot if he can beat Terence Crawford.
Terence Crawford is a 6-1 favorite to win tonight’s fight. It will be interesting to see how the management team of Manny Pacquiao determines who faces him in November.
ICYMI: Possible @mannypacquiao fight at stake for @budcrawford402 vs. @IcemanPostol winner. My blog: https://t.co/Nl3sGr3qR0 #CrawfordPostol
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) July 23, 2016
Freddie Roach and Bob Arum uses style as the deciding factor, Jessie Vargas might be the way to go. Vargas is a crowd-pleasing fighter that would bring the excitement to the ring against Pacquiao.
If they want to go with a passing of the torch type of fight, it can be Viktor Postol. Because Postol is a Freddie Roach fighter it is an ideal situation for each of them.
But if the goal is to sell tickets and pay-per-view buys, then Terence Crawford will be the choice. Crawford has all of the ability to be on the same level as Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Styles makes fights usually, and Terence Crawford’s style is eerily close to Mayweather’s. The only exception is his knockout ability. Of the three, Terence Crawford has what it takes to defeat Manny Pacquiao.
Tonight’s fight of Terence Crawford versus Viktor Postol at 140-pounds will eliminate one of them from the discussion of who Manny Pacquiao will fight next. The winner will be evaluated along with Jessie Vargas for the former champion’s comeback bout.
It is safe to say that when Terence Crawford meets Viktor Postol, there will be more on the line than the undefeated records and the lineal title.
[Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]