Khan will be a real tough guy says Crawford
TERENCE Crawford is among the best fighters on the planet, but feels Amir Khan will be one of his toughest tests.
It is quite the claim from the three-weight world champion, who is in the debate alongside Vasyl Lomachenko to be the No1 pound-forpound man in the sport.
Crawford, 31, won the WBO lightweight title in 2014 by outpointing Ricky Burns before he won all four belts at light-welterweight.
The American then moved up again to become a three-weight champion, wrenching the WBO welterweight crown from Jeff Horn, who had dethroned Manny Pacquiao.
He faces Khan on April 20 in America, and said: “I don’t know if Amir would be the favourite against everyone I’ve fought so far but he’s one of the best. I’ve fought a lot of top fighters and he’s definitely one of the best.”
Politics have denied the Bob Arum-promoted boxer a defining fight so far with the three other division’s champions. Crawford said: “It does not frustrate me to the point I get angry, it just frustrates me when the public and media make it seem like there is an invisible wall that’s blocking us from fighting when it’s not.”
If he beats Khan, who has won twice since his brutal knockout defeat by Saul Alvarez in 2016, then all eyes will turn to one of the other welterweight holders.
But, for now, Crawford knows he cannot take former light-welterweight king Khan lightly with his own legacy on the line.
Crawford said: “There’s so much at stake in this fight; he wants to get his career back to the level that it was, as one of the greatest fighters in England today.
“I feel like he’s looking at my status and boosting himself by thinking, ‘If I can beat Terence Crawford then I will be labelled as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.’
“Of course I’m putting more on the line than he is. But I feel having a name like Amir Khan on my resume boosts my status as well.”