Malaki ang paniniwala ni Canadian Dierry Jean na mahihirapang manalo ang Amerikanong WBO light welterweight champion na si Terence Crawford kay eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao.
Si Crawford ang siyang tumalo kay Jean via 10th round TKO na ginanap sa CenturyLink Center, sa Omaha, Nebraska noong Linggo.
Naghain ng protesta si Jean dahil pumayag ang Amerikanong referee na si Tony Weeks sa rabbit punches ng kababayan nito na nasaksihan ng mahigit 11,000 boxing fanatics.
“Crawford kept hitting me behind the head,” reklamo ni Jean kay BoxingScene.com managing editor Jake Donovan. “I thought that was unfair.”
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Sa inaasahang pagdedepensa ni Crawford ng WBO belt nito kay Pacquiao sa Abril 9 sa Las Vegas, Nevada, iginiit ni Jean na mahihirapang manalo si Crawford sa Pinoy boxer.
“To be honest, Manny is faster and hits harder (than Crawford),” dagdag ni Jean na naging sparring partner ni Pacquiao sa laban kay dating pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. noong nakaraang Mayo 2.
Para kay Crawford, hihintayin na lamang niya ang desisyon ng Top Rank kung siya ang makakalaban ni Pacquiao bago ito magretiro sa boksing.
“If that’s the fight presents itself, then I’m pretty sure it will be properly handled by my promoter and my managers (Cameron Dunkin and Bryan McIntyre) acting in my best interest,” giit ni Crawford. “We’ll see what happens, but whenever and wherever it needs to take place is fine.”
Inihayag naman ni Top Rank big boss Bob Arum na kung maglalaban ang dalawa ay tiyak na nakataya ang korona ni Crawford dahil sa 140 pounds magaganap ang sagupaan.
“If that fight happens, it will probably be at 140,” dagdag ni Arum. “Manny is coming in at 144 lbs. but he has to eat five meals a day in order to keep his weight up. He’s most comfortable at 140, so I have to imagine it will be for Terence’s title.” (GILBERT ESPENA)
