By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Terence Crawford will be defending his WBO World Super-Lightweight Championship against fellow American Hank (Henry) Lundy this Saturday, February 27th at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden. The bout can be seen in Canada and the U.S. live on HBO while fans in the UK can catch all of the action on BoxNation. Crawford is a two-time, two-weight champion who will enter the ring as the favourite. Lundy is seen an outside top-10 contender who has the skills to potentially pull off an upset only if he’s in the best form of his career.
The 28-year-old Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska is considered to be one of boxing’s pound-for-pound contenders and will enter the squared circle with a perfect record of 27-0 along with 19 Kos. In addition, a dozen of those stoppages have been recorded within the first three rounds. Crawford won the WBO Lightweight crown back in March of 2014 when he beat Ricky Burns of Scotland by unanimous decision in Burns’ backyard. He defended the title against former Olympic gold medalist Cuban Yuriorkis of Cuba via a ninth round stoppage and then beat Raymundo Beltran of Mexico in November of 2014 in his second title defence.
Crawford moved up in weight to super-lightweight last year and stopped Thomas Dulorme in the sixth round to win the vacant WBO title in April. He’s defended it once against Dierry Jean of France by stopping him in the 10th round in November. The 32-year-old Lundy is a native of Philadelphia and holds a record of 26-5-1 with 13 Kos to his name. His biggest victories have been against world champs Richar Abril and David Diaz and has also beaten the likes of Olusegan Ajose, Angeloa Santana, Patrick Williams and Dannie Williams. He won the vacant WBC Continental Lightweight Championship when he stopped Carlos Velasquez in the fifth round last October.
Crawford turned pro back in 2008 and has 130 rounds under his belt since then while Lundy has boxed 189 rounds since 2006. Crawford is an excellent boxer and also has better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 70 per cent while Lundy’s power is mediocre at best and has a knockout percentage of just 41. Crawford also has the size advantage as he stands 5-foot-8 with a 70-inch reach while Lundy has a wingspan of 67 inches and is an inch shorter at 5-foot-7. Lundy’s losses have been to Thomas Dulorme, Mauricio Herrera, Viktor Postol, Ray Beltran and John Molina Jr. with Molina being the only one to stop him. He also fought to a four-round draw with Darnell Jiles Jr. and has lost two of his past three fights.
Crawford is one of the best American boxers out there today as he combines speed, skill and power with a good chin. However, he’s sometimes slow out of the gate and it takes him a few rounds to adjust and get going. He owns has excellent foot and hand speed and better-than-average power. He’s an accurate puncher who sometimes changes to southpaw. Basically, Crawford is the total package and could definitely be one of America’s next top boxing stars. Lundy is a competitive guy, buy has fallen short most times he’s stepped up in class. He’s got a good chin and boxing skills, but needs to up his game to get over the hump.
Prediction
Crawford seems to have it all, but that doesn’t mean he’s unbeatable. There will probably come a time when he tastes defeat for the first time, but it won’t be this Saturday. He’s too skilled and determined to lose to Lundy. Look for the champion to retain his title by late stoppage or a relatively comfortable decision.
