Umaasa si WBO junior welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford ng United States na siya ang pipiliin ni eight-division world titlist Manny Pacquiao na huling makakalaban ng huli sa Abril 9, 2016 sa Las Vegas, Nevada bago magretiro ang Pinoy boxing icon sa boksing.
Inamin ng walang talong boksingero na masaya siya na nakapasok sa top ten pound-for-pound rankings ng pamosong The Ring Magazine bilang No. 7 sa listahan, kasunod ni Pacquiao, na kasalukuyang No. 6 ranked.
“We come already arrived at the ten best pound-for-pound. The people have all been a part of all this. They motivate me and I have to keep on working to get to a big fight,” pagtatapat ni Crawford sa ESPN Deportes. “Pacquiao is one of these fights. We are going to see he picks us. We have already studied Pacquiao and I believe that we [are capable of beating him].”
May kartadang perpektong 27 panalo, 19 ang knockouts, si Crawford ang pangunahing contender sa tatlong pinagpipilian at ihahayag ni Pacquiao anumang araw.
Huling lumaban si Crawford noong nakaraang Oktubre, nang patulugin niya sa 10th round ang dating sparring partner ni Pacquiao na si Dierry Jean ng Canada.
“The truth is, the only thing that I have left is to hope for the fight. I hope that they choose me so I can demonstrate if I am ready for a fight like that. I believe that I am, but I want to prove it,” dagdag ni Crawford. “My career has been advancing, I’m where he I wanted to be and it is exciting that the people ask me about facing one of the great ones.” – Gilbert Espeña