By Ian S Palmer
Undefeated Terence Crawford of America takes on Thomas Dulorme of Puerto Rico this Saturday, April 18 for the vacant WBO Super Lightweight Championship at the University of Texas in Arlington. The 12-round bout can be seen live in Canada and the U.S. on HBO while BoxNation is broadcasting it live in the UK. The 27-year-old Crawford enters the ring with a record of 25-0 with 17 Kos while the 25-year-old Dulorme has an impressive mark of 22-1 with 14 Kos.
This will be Crawford’s first bout at 140 lbs and the former lightweight champion is facing a pretty tough customer in Dulorme. Crawford has excellent foot and hand speed and better-than-average power. He’s an accurate puncher who sometimes changes to southpaw and has a good chin, but sometimes gets off to a slow start. Basically, Crawford is the total package and could definitely be one of America’s next boxing stars as he’s already well on his way to being one.
Crawford, of Omaha, Nebraska, could eventually move up to the welterweight division at 147 lbs, but he can’t look past Dulorme, who’s also a good boxer with decent power and a solid chin. Dulorme’s only pro loss came at the hands of the hard-hitting Luis Carlos Abregu when he was stopped in the second round in a 2012 welterweight contest. Dulorme has taken the opposite path of Crawford since he has moved down in weight and it’s worked out well for him. His last fight was a split-decision win over Hank Lundy and he’s on a six-bout winning streak.
Dulorme stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 70 inches while Crawford is with 5-foot-8-inches tall and also has a 70-inch reach. Dulorme has fought 111 rounds since turning pro in 2008 while Crawford has gone 114 rounds and turned pro in the same year. Crawford owns wins over the likes of Raymundo Beltran, Breidis Prescott, Ricky Burns and Yuriorkis Gamboa while Dulorme’s best performances have been against Lundy and DeMarcus Corley.
Dulorme’s best chance here is to get off to a quick start and try to pile up as many points as he can in the early rounds. He has good power and Crawford can be hit, but he’s going to have to stay on top of the American all night long if he hopes to pull off an upset. Crawford will improve as the fight goes on and he’s comfortable in a boxing match and slugging it out, which gives him a definite edge.
Prediction
Crawford seems to have it all, but that doesn’t mean he’s unbeatable. There will probably come a time when Crawford tastes defeat for the first time, but it won’t be this Saturday. He’s too skilled and determined to lose to Dulorme, but it will be a decent test for him. Look for Crawford to win by a stoppage in the second half of the fight.
