Terence “Bud” Crawford (30-0) faces Felix Diaz (19-1) this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for the WBC World super lightweight title.
On paper this fight looks extremely attractive given that Diaz is a very slick and crafty southpaw boxer that could test the unblemished Crawford.
Diaz will need to work at a very unpredictable pace and dart in and out working behind a sharp quick jab. Diaz will also need to establish a persistent and consistent body attack on his taller and longer foe.
The only problem with working in and out against an intelligent boxer like Crawford is that you are at a high risk on getting timed while jumping in to strike.
A fighter that beats Crawford will be a smart highly determined and well-conditioned fighter that will even then need to turn in a A+ performance to hang an L on Bud Crawford.
The thing with Bud is that next to having a high boxing IQ, you’ll be hard pressed to find another fighter that can pick you a part on the outside and on the inside.
I see this fight starting out in a similar way as to how the Crawford/Gamboa fight looked in the early going.
Diaz will be somewhat competitive early but by round five Crawford will get into his comfort zone and will batter Diaz with right crosses and left hooks.
After round five I really don’t see Diaz being competitive against Bud, I see Bud switching from right to southpaw with ease and will give Diaz a world of trouble and torture.
Look for Crawford to rip Diaz with damaging hooks to the body and will then hurt Diaz badly with a right uppercut followed by a left hook fight ending bomb.