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TEAM CRAWFORD ON PACQUIAO VS. VARGAS AND A DANNY GARCIA FIGHT: "HE DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO FIGHT TERENCE"

By Percy Crawford | August 24, 2016
TEAM CRAWFORD ON PACQUIAO VS. VARGAS AND A DANNY GARCIA FIGHT:

"I think it would be a good fight, especially on paper it would be a good fight. Danny is a good champion. He was the lineal champion at 140. He knocked out Khan and beat Matthysse. He got a good little resume down at 140. He created his name down at 140, so he's doing pretty good...Manny has already been trying to stay away from Terence because when it was a rumor that he was coming back, he had offered Garcia and he had offered Broner; before he even came over to any Top Rank guys, he had already gone outside of Top Rank. So what that shows me is that he doesn't really want to fight Terence right now," stated Red Spikes, assistant trainer for undefeated unified jr. welterweight champion Terence Crawford, who shared his thoughts on Manny Pacquiao fighting Jessie Vargas and a potential clash with Danny Garcia. Check it out!

PC: Recently Terence and Danny Garcia had some words over social media. We were just talking about one day Haymon's guys would be fighting Arum's guys. What are your thoughts on a potential Crawford-Garcia fight?

RS: I think it would be a good fight, especially on paper it would be a good fight. Danny is a good champion. He was the lineal champion at 140. He knocked out Khan and beat Matthysse. He got a good little resume down at 140. He created his name down at 140, so he's doing pretty good.

PC: Obviously you guys would have to move up 7 pounds to face Danny and Terence already stated that wouldn't be a problem. We are starting to see that more often, and not just guys moving up one weight class, but as many as two divisions to make fights happen. Do you think that's just becoming the norm and something we can expect?

RS: I guess so. That seems to be the trend and I think it's because of the promoters and guys on the business side not willing to work with each other and things like that. I think that's the reason why people are just scrambling to make fights. If all of the stars were aligned and these guys were all working together, I think these mismatch fights wouldn't be happening so much. We would have more guys for people to fight instead of these wild and crazy mismatches. It's crazy to me.

PC: The problem is not only has it been mismatches on paper, but in the case of Khan-Canelo, they are playing out as mismatches as well. Are you expecting anything different from the Brook-Golovkin fight?

RS: The Brook-Golovkin fight may be a little bit more competitive than what people think. I really think highly of Kell Brook. He was a big 47-pounder. I know he fought a couple of times in the 150 area when he didn't have a title. He's a big welterweight. Now as far as his power is concerned, I don't know if that's going to carry to 160, but his boxing skill and his ability alone will make that fight a little more interesting than people think. I think they need to stick to a certain game plan and not get too greedy because Golovkin got a lot of little sneaky tricks. He can punch with you and he's one of the best in the game at cutting the ring off, so Brook is going to have his work cut out for him, but if they have the proper game plan, they can make it a little bit interesting. I still would pick Golovkin late TKO or decision, but I think Kell will make it interesting in the early to middle rounds.

PC: Have you seen enough of Andre Ward at 175 to be confident in him going into a fight with Kovalev?

RS: Ward's background...that fight is going to be a lot more of an IQ match and I think that's where Andre Ward is going to have an advantage. I don't think Kovalev is going to come in and try to overwhelm him. If that was the case, he would've done that with BHop. Andre Ward has enough pop in his punches to keep Kovalev honest. Even in the Olympics, he won at 178, so fighting bigger guys ain't shit. Ward hasn't lost since he was 13 years old, so I don't think that size is going to make a difference. It's going to come down to skill and IQ and I got Ward winning a close one. Kovalev is a premier fighter and John David [Jackson] is really getting his technical abilities up. He showed a lot of that against BHop. Old BHop, but he still showed me some technical things; his jab and that jab to the chest and pressing and making you work when you don't want to work. So I think it's going to come down to IQ and I think Andre Ward will prevail in that fight.

PC: HBO has turned the Pacquiao-Vargas fight away. Now they are looking for a network to carry the event. Do you have any take aways from that situation?

RS: Manny has already been trying to stay away from Terence because when it was a rumor that he was coming back, he had offered Garcia and he had offered Broner; before he even came over to any Top Rank guys, he had already gone outside of Top Rank. So what that shows me is that he doesn't really want to fight Terence right now. If you look at it, especially while PBC and Top Rank not working together, I think eventually if Manny Pacquiao stays in the game long enough, he's going to have to cross paths with Terence because who will be out there for either one of them to fight to be honest. At 140, we are looking to unify the titles; fight the Russian kid [Eduard Troyanovsky] or a rematch with Ricky Burns and collect another belt. But other than that, who is there to fight on the Top Rank side? So eventually we probably end up being forced to take a fight at 47 or Pacquiao is going to have to fight Terence here in the next year; the next calendar year because there's not going to be anyone else out there. That's if he stays in the game and is an active fighter.

PC: I agree, and from the sounds of it, he'll be around for a little bit longer for sure.

RS: Yeah, and it's actually smart; Freddie got to see Terence firsthand. I'm not going to run around and call Manny a ducker. He's a Hall of Famer, so you gotta put some respect on his name. He has the right to pick and choose and move at his own pace, so if he feels he doesn't want that fight right now, that's a smart move. Get in there and get active again, get a couple of fights under your belt, and then when you don't have anywhere else to go, then what do you do? But yeah, I mean, shit, I think Pacquiao is going to have to eventually fight us all we have to do is keep winning. Because if not, it's going to be like, "Well, he lost; what is he going to do for us," type of shit. I think eventually it's going to happen and I actually think it will be bigger later, so it's fine with us. Like I said the last time we spoke, he's not going to stop us from moving forward with what we have to do and collecting belts and doing what we are supposed to do out here. He's not going to stop us.

PC: I appreciate the time as always my man and any time you got anything, hit me up.

RS: I appreciate it. I like talking this boxing and I learn a lot from you guys, so hit me up anytime as well.



[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]

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