Terence Crawford to defend title against Hank Lundy Feb. 27 on HBO
Terence Crawford is set for his New York debut on Feb. 27. Now he has an opponent.
Persons informed of the talks told Paste BN Sports on Sunday that there's a verbal agreement for Crawford to defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Hank Lundy. The persons requested anonymity because the fight has yet to be signed. The fight was later officially announced.
The 140-pound bout will headline an HBO card from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, with BoxingJunkie's 2015 Prospect of the Year, Felix Verdejo, in the co-feature.
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Crawford, BoxingJunkie's No. 7 pound-for-pound fighter, is a big attraction in his native Omaha, Neb., where his October victory over Dierry Jean took place, but now promoter Top Rank will try to build him on the East Coast. Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs) has great speed, crisp defense and can switch from orthodox to southpaw in the blink of an eye.
He was passed over for an April fight with Manny Pacquiao, and Top Rank quickly moved to set him up the 28-year-old with his own date.
Lundy, who will be a decided underdog, will seek to score the upset in his first HBO main event. The brash 32-year-old has lost two of his last three fights, but neither defeat was convincing. He was coming on vs. Mauricio Herrera during their July meeting, but two cuts over Herrera's eyes cut the fight short, and Lundy lost via fifth-round technical decision.
The other loss was a hotly contested split decision to Thomas Dulorme in Lundy's lone HBO outing to date. The switch-hitting Phildelaphian, known as one of the best trash talkers in the sport, also has a defeat to Viktor Postol, a close decision defeat in Ukraine.
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Lundy, 32, can match Crawford in the speed department, and packs a punch. Though Hammerin' Hank's record isn't glamorous, he's a good action fighter and figures to push the pace against Crawford. Lundy (26-5-1 13 KOs) also was offered a fight with Frankie Gomez, but turned it down.
Crawford made his HBO debut as a late replacement vs. Breidis Prescott in 2013 and has since emerged as one of the best talents in boxing. He won the WBO lightweight title with a lopsided decision over Ricky Burns in March 2014 and defended it twice, with victories over Yuriorkis Gamboa and Ray Beltran. Crawford earned Fighter of the Year honors from the Boxing Writers Association of America for 2014.
He moved up to 140 pounds in 2015, and scored stoppage victories over Thomas Dulorme and Jean. Crawford and Lundy share two common opponets - Dulorme and Beltran. Crawford dominated both fighters, with Lundy dropping tight decisions.
Bob Arum told Paste BN Sports last week that the plan is for Crawford to fight twice on HBO in the first six months of 2016, with a possible pay-per-view debut taking place in the fall.
(Photo of Crawford by Chris Farina, Top Rank)