Terence Crawford: Felix Diaz fight represents a return to form

Terence Crawford will defend his WBC and WBO junior welterweight titles against 2008 Olympic gold medalist and top contender Felix Diaz in what represents a return to form for the Nebraskan.

Many thought Terence Crawford’s unification fight against Viktor Postol in October of 2015 was going to be the first major test for the burgeoning pound-for-pound star since he rallied and stopped Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa in a wild firefight to retain a lightweight title. However, when Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs) utterly outclassed Postol, opinions were divided; some felt the win reaffirmed Crawford’s elite standing, whereas others were quick to dismiss Postol’s credentials.

The truth probably lies somewhere in between. Indeed, Postol had impressed in an upset knockout victory against Lucas Matthysse to claim the WBC 140-pound title, but then again, Matthysse’s career at the elite level has been sustained by as much hype as substance. And yes, Postol had also recently iced contender Selcuk Aydin, but too much was made of the Ukrainian’s sudden displays of punching power.

While it isn’t fair to simply state that Viktor Postol is an overrated fighter, the desire to see Terence Crawford tested against a dangerous foe got in the way of a more objective assessment of the match-up.

Now, as Crawford gets set to defend his titles on May 20 at Madison Square Garden against former Olympic champion Felix Diaz, the sense is that the Nebraskan is about to face his toughest opponent to date — the gifted but mercurial Gamboa included. Crawford-Diaz has been building for about a year, and with the prospect of Crawford fighting Manny Pacquiao currently in limbo, this match makes sense as a fight to satisfy boxing purists.

Diaz (19-1, 9 KOs) may already be 33 with only 20 bouts as a professional, but much of that is due to the maddening process of trying to secure fights as a dangerous but relatively unknown contender. Case in point: Diaz, a natural 140-pounder, has fought his last several contests at welterweight, which have included a controversial loss to Lamont Peterson in a fight Diaz appeared to clearly win, as well as a dominant decision over rising contender Sammy Vasquez.

In both those aforementioned fights, Diaz applied relentless and intelligent pressure and utilized strength, leverage, and an expert managing of distance to work effectively on the inside. The sense here is that Diaz won’t freeze in front of Crawford; rather, he will gamely attempt to work his way inside and force Crawford to either stand his ground or throw at a higher than anticipated volume to keep the fight at an optimal distance.

It’s also reasonable to expect that Diaz will be even stronger and more bullish back at 140 pounds. The only time Crawford has remotely struggled at the championship level was against Gamboa when the Cuban used his explosiveness and timing to catch Crawford in no man’s land over the first few rounds of their fight. Although Gamboa’s leaky defense — not to mention Crawford’s adjustments — caught up with the challenger that night, he was able to dictate the pace of the bout and terms of engagement for brief stretches. Diaz has a strong enough identity as a fighter to accomplish something similar.

The Diaz fight is also important for Terence Crawford in that it prioritizes a quality match-up over moderate marketability. This balance was skewed in Crawford’s last fight, which saw him face the popular but limited John Molina Jr. in a match-up where Molina’s appeal to fans couldn’t come close to offsetting the harsh reality that he would get outclassed. At this point, Crawford is far better off in something resembling a 50-50 fight against a relative unknown than participating in a mismatch that might sell a few more tickets.

The Diaz fight will also be revelatory when it comes to assessing Terence Crawford’s pound-for-pound standing as he awaits a marquee bout against Manny Pacquiao, or a mouth-watering “perfect world” clash with Mikey Garcia if the newly-minted WBC lightweight champion were to move up in weight and rebuild some bridges with Top Rank. If Crawford can dominate Diaz, it will be virtually impossible to keep him out of a pound-for-pound top-five.

Next: Pacquiao to face Jeff Horn in Australia on July 2

Felix Diaz isn’t the marquee name fans want to see Terence Crawford fighting, but given external circumstances, he’s by far the best option for May 20 — even from a longterm business standpoint, and particularly from a boxing one. Both Crawford and Diaz have in some ways been victims of their success, and sometimes, when those types of fighters square off, something truly memorable — something that couldn’t have been predicted simply by assessing the fight on paper — occurs.