Crawford open to Pacquiao fight at 140 pounds | ABS-CBN

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Crawford open to Pacquiao fight at 140 pounds

Crawford open to Pacquiao fight at 140 pounds

ABS-CBN News

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Updated Jul 26, 2016 12:36 AM PHT

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Unbeaten fighter Terence "Bud" Crawford became the most likely opponent for Manny Pacquiao when he outclassed Viktor Postol to unify the WBO and WBC super lightweight belts on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Crawford twice knocked down in the fifth round Postol en route to a unanimous decision victory, the 29th straight of his professional career. It was also Postol's first loss in 29 matches.

The Nebraska-born Crawford thus set up a potential showdown against the "Pacman," who is tipped to make a boxing comeback in November after announcing his retirement in April.

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As he basked in his victory over Postol, Crawford did not appear too concerned about the now-Senator Pacquiao, instead leaving it up to his promoters and trainers to handle the issue.

"If (Top Rank chief executive) Bob Arum wants that fight, and my coaches want that fight, that's something we'll talk about later," Crawford said, as quoted by Boxing Scene.

"I let my coaches handle that. I am a fighter and I will fight anybody," added Crawford, who was 20 knockout victories in his record. "I'm happy, and I'm about to go on vacation."

"We not worried about Manny Pacquiao right now," he stressed.

Crawford, however, made it clear that if he does fight Pacquiao, "it will be at 140 (pounds)," a condition that chief trainer Freddie Roach has no issues with.

"I think 140 pounds is where we would see the best Pacquiao," Roach, who helped Pacquiao reach the pinnacle of boxing, told Boxing Scene in a separate report.

"At 147 pounds (welterweight), he's not bad, but I think his ideal weight is 140, where the speed and power will be combined better," he added.

However, Roach's dream is still to see Pacquiao make his comeback against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a rematch of their May 2015 "Fight of the Century."

"To me, I would love it if he would return, and do it against Floyd Mayweather, but that still seems remote," he admitted.

"If he can't do that, then we can do it at 140 pounds. That's where I like to see him," he added.

Pacquiao fought at 140 pounds only once in his career, but it was perhaps his most devastating performance. He brutally knocked out Ricky Hatton in the second round of their bout to win the IBO and The RING light-welterweight belts when they fought in May 2009.

He then moved to welterweight, where he campaigned for most of the remainder of his career until his retirement in April 2016 following a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley.

However, Pacquiao's promoter, Arum, has indicated that the boxer intends to make a comeback later this year, and has already reserved the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for November 5.

(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)

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