Terence Crawford's next title defense could come against Ruslan Provodnikov in June
NEW YORK - Terence Crawford had just blasted his way through Hank Lundy moments earlier Saturday, and less than five rounds were needed to the get job done, but Bob Arum already was thinking about the next move.
He told Paste BN Sports that the plan is for Crawford to fight on a June date in Los Angeles, possibly against Siberian slugger Ruslan Provodnikov.
Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) is a star in his native Omaha, Neb., where he routinely draws sold-out crowds. The 28-year-old's fans travelled well for his first main event in New York. Now Arum is wisely trekking west with one of the best fighters in the world.
"He's going to fight in June, we hope, the end of June, in Los Angeles, probably at The Forum, and we're going to match him as tough as we can," Arum told Paste BN Sports. "So one of the guys who's a possibility is Provodnikov, and we'll see if he takes the fight. We'll go from there. I spoke to (promoter) Artie (Pellulo), I hope to put that fight together."
Provodnikov, one of the sport's great action stars, formerly held the WBO junior welterweight title Crawford wears around his waist. The 32-year-old Provodnikov stopped Mike Alvarado in a terrific 2013 encounter to claim the belt, but never successfully defended it.
Chris Algieri upset Provodnikov via split decision in a hotly contested bout the following year. Provodnikov also engaged in a fight of the year candidate with Lucas Matthysse in April, but was unable to secure a second meaningful fight in 2015.
He fought Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez in November in a bout that wasn't televised stateside after many top contenders turned down the opportunity to fight Provodnikov on Showtime.
(Photo of Provodnikov by Chris Farina/Top Rank)
"Bob called me on Saturday afternoon. I said 'absolutely' to Arum, Ruslan has never shied away from anybody, he doesn't care who he's fighting," Pellulo told Paste BN on Monday evening. "We didn't want to fight him in Nebraska.
"Sometime this week we'll go over the details but it won't be a problem on our side making the fight. When it came to mixing it up, (Crawford) mixed it up. and that's a good style for Provodnikov. He's never been in the ring with anyone like Ruslan. That tenacity, that constant coming at you, coming forward. A lot of pressure for 12 rounds. It all depends on the deal points and how we structure the deal."
Provodnikov (25-4, 18 KOs) and Crawford can help each other, it seems. Crawford, too, has had difficulty finding a worthy opponent. An HBO bout vs. Provodnikov, a pressure-style fighter, would represent Crawford's most high-profile matchup to date.
"He is getting better," Arum said of Crawford, a former champion at lightweight. "We never believed that he could - and I believed but I didn't know - that he could punch like this. He said that because making 135 he was weakening himself. And at 140 he's a lot stronger. He's terrific."
A bout with Provodnikov would be terrific, too.
(Photo of Crawford by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)