This Bud's Not For Me

Crawford defeated Postol by unanimous decision

Terence Crawford dominated Viktor Postol this past Saturday night dropping Postol twice to earn a unanimous decision. Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) handed Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) his first loss and thus has put himself at the top of the 140 pound hill with the win. But was this truly Crawford’s coming out party or did his latest victory do more harm than good?

Saturday’s pay-per-view event took a chance on buy in from hardcore followers of boxing. Outside of names like Pacquiao, Mayweather, or even Adrien Broner, casual fans would be hard pressed to tell you who Terence Crawford was or what division he fought in, much less anything about his opponent Viktor Postol. It was Crawford’s stage and his opportunity to enter the murky and unpredictable pay-per-view market.

Ever since “The Fight of The Century” between Mayweather and Pacquiao (and its abysmal undercard) set records for the most pay-per-view buys, many fight fans, both casual and hardcore alike, felt cheated. Pay-per-view buys for every event since have sharply declined, even for fighters with huge followings like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.

In dominating Postol, Crawford implemented a strategy that took what could be considered a very “Mayweather-esque” approach; move around and away from your opponent and pot shot your way to a decision win.  While one could appreciate how easily Crawford beat Postol (and switching to a southpaw stance for the entirety of the fight), after some tense moments early, it was not exciting to watch.

Crawford lands a counter left hand
dropping Postol in the 5th round

The timing could not have been worse for such a performance. Had the fight been on regular HBO, criticism of the fight might not be as harsh. After all, there is an old saying in boxing, “win this fight, and look good in the next.” But those who watched the fight were a paying audience. It is highly unlikely he secured any future pay-per-view buys from those who forked out the $49.99/$59.99 HD to watch.

Even the aforementioned Mayweather, who only late in his career took on a very cautious defensive approach, made a splash upon entering the pay-per-view market. His fight against Arturo Gatti was an out right demolition. Mayweather attacked Gatti from round one and once he knew Gatti had nothing to offer in return, he never let up. In doing so, Mayweather created demand to see him again (and some fans paid to see him lose).

In fairness, Postol was not only a much more skilled fighter than Gatti, he was widely considered the #1 fighter in his division. The first 4 rounds were closely contested. but by the 5th round Crawford found his groove and was able to counter Postol at will. He showed that he was a level above Postol and yet he still chose to play it safe for the rest of the fight. 

There's no doubt Crawford is a star in the making. But this fighting style will not make him a star. He did not make a strong case to be a must see fighter, nor one that should be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent, if rumors of Pacquiao's return are true. We already saw what that fight would look like and no one wants to pay to see that again.

Valdez drops Ruedas with a left hook to the body

One fighter that did use his moment in the spotlight to shine was Mexico’s latest addition to the country’s long line of featherweight fighters, Oscar Valdez. Valdez absolutely blitzed Argentinian fighter Matias Rueda who looked completely out of his depth. From the first round, Valdez established his superiority, with amazing quickness, landing lead right hands and counter left hooks at will. Valdez would stop Ruedas after dropping him twice in the 2nd round.

If there was one fighter that proved he was worth watching again, it was Oscar Valdez.

Also on the undercard, Jose Benavidez turned back the challenge of Francisco “Chia” Santana winning a unanimous decision after twelve heated rounds in their welterweight bout. Benavidez, who once again looked gassed early in a fight, gutted out the win using accurate power punches and superior footwork to overcome Santana’s pressuring and smothering tactics. With the win, Benavidez improves to 25-0, 16 KOs.