‘Bring on Pacquiao’
Unbeaten American wants Pacquiao next
Crawford retains belts with Diaz stoppage then calls out Filipino legend
NEW YORK: Unbeaten American Terence Crawford kept his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Organization junior welterweight titles on Saturday by stopping Dominican southpaw Felix Diaz after 10 rounds.
Crawford improved to 31-0 with his 22nd victory inside the distance while Diaz fell to 19-2 in the feature at Madison Square Garden.
Crawford, who went southpaw stance the entire fight, scored with solid lefts and combinations while using right jabs to keep Diaz at bay.
“I do what I want in there. It’s my ring,” Crawford said of his southpaw switch. “That’s what I wanted to do.”
The Dominican challenger was rocked by a left hook to the head in the eighth round and another early in the ninth as Crawford dominated, tapping the 2008 Beijing Olympic champion on the head in the 10th to embarrass him before Diaz’s cornermen stopped the bout after the round.
“It’s a fight. You can’t be nice in there. You’ve got to be mean in there,” Crawford said.
Crawford, who has won five of his past six fights inside the distance, called out Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao after the triumph but indicated he was also up for a unification showdown with undefeated rival champion Julius Indongo.
“Pacquiao. That’s the only fight out there we’re really looking for,” Crawford said. “If not that, Indongo. He came to my fight. I’m ready to go with anybody.”
Namibian southpaw Indongo, 22-0 with 11 knockouts, decisioned Britain’s Ricky Burns last month in Glasgow for the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association crowns and a fight with Crawford would create an undisputed champion in the 140-pound division.
RUSSELL TAMES ESCANDON
In Washington, US southpaw Gary Russell stopped Colombian Oscar Escandon 59 seconds into the seventh round on Saturday to retain his World Boxing Council featherweight crown.
After an undercard bout that had American police searching for the winner’s uncle following a post-fight attack, Russell dominated a South American rival in his first world title contest.
Russell improved to 28-1 with his 17th victory inside the distance while Escandon fell to 25-3.
Russell landed a powerful right hook early in the third round that forced Escandon to touch his hands to the canvas for balance, suffering only the second knockdown of his career.
The South American took more punishment throughout the round, Russell landing powerful combinations, but switched to a southpaw style in the fourth and blunted Russell’s momentum at the National Harbor casino.
A right hook in the seventh backed up Escandon, whose knees buckled near the ropes as Russell landed a solid left that prompted referee Harvey Dock to stop the fight.
“It was a good performance,” Russell said. “I knew he would be a tough opponent. It was my job to make the necessary adjustments.”
Russell hopes to unify titles next against a rival champion, such as Welshman Lee Selby, who is 24-1 with nine knockouts and on a 20-fight win streak. Otherwise, Russell plans to jump from the 126-pound division to super featherweight.
N’DAM-MURATA REMATCH
The World Boxing Association (WBA) has ordered a rematch of the middleweight world title fight between Hassan N’Dam and Ryota Murata after a contentious decision awarded victory to the Frenchman in Tokyo on Saturday.
Cameroon-born N’Dam was sent to the canvas in the fourth round after being caught by a powerful right cross and seemed to be in survival mode for the rest of the contest but two of the three judges gave the win to the 33-year-old.
“After judging the bout, my scorecard is 117-110 for Murata,” WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza said in a statement.
“First of all, let me apologise to Ryota Murata, Teiken Promotions and all Japanese boxing fans. There are no words to repair the damage... I will demand the Championships Committee to order a direct rematch.”