Omaha boxer Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford set to face former world champ Amir Khan in April fight

Omaha boxer Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford set to face former world champ Amir Khan in April fight
Terence "Bud" Crawford scored a technical knockout against Jose Benavidez in October in Omaha. CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

It isn’t against one of the other welterweight champions, but Terence “Bud” Crawford is finally getting the big fight he’s wanted.

Crawford, the WBO’s 147-pound champ, will defend his title against British star Amir “King” Khan on April 20 at a site yet to be determined.

The bout will be officially announced Tuesday in London, but is expected to take place in the U.S. Top Rank, the company that promotes Crawford, has mentioned in the past both New York City and Las Vegas as potential sites for his next defense, which should bring the Omahan the biggest payday of his career.

 

The broadcast platform for the Crawford-Khan fight also is expected to be announced Tuesday, with ESPN pay-per-view being a distinct possibility. Crawford (34-0, 25 knockouts) has fought on ESPN twice and ESPN+ once since Top Rank signed an exclusive long-term deal with the network in 2017.

The three-division champion from Omaha unified all four junior welterweight titles in his ESPN debut in 2017 before moving up to 147 pounds last year. In his first bout at welterweight, he scored a ninth-round technical knockout against former champ Jeff Horn in Las Vegas. Crawford then defended his title for the first time in Omaha in October with a 12th-round TKO of Jose Benavidez Jr.

Khan (33-4, 20 knockouts) has won two straight fights after taking nearly two years off following his knockout loss to Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2016. The former Olympic silver medalist from Bolton, England, moved up two weight classes to challenge for the WBC middleweight title. He was leading on one scorecard when the bigger Alvarez stopped him in the sixth round.

In his return to the ring in 2018, Khan needed only 39 seconds to blow out Phil Lo Greco. He earned a lopsided decision over Samuel Vargas in his last bout in September.

Khan, who claimed Olympic silver in Athens as a 17-year-old in 2004, was a unified champion at junior welterweight prior to Crawford’s arrival in that division. The fighters are only nine months apart in age, with the 32-year-old Khan being older, but they hadn’t fought in a weight class simultaneously until last year.

Share: