In his past three fights, undefeated WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford has mowed through three unbeaten colleagues. Next up: He hopes to hand former WBA champ Amir Khan his fifth loss (33-4, 20 KOs). Ahead of the April 20 fight (9 p.m. ET, ESPN PPV), we asked a veteran trainer to assess Crawford’s skill set, then let Crawford assess the assessment.
ANONYMOUS TRAINER Sometimes he goes out there and knocks guys out. Sometimes he goes out there and uses his speed and his legs when he needs to and outboxes them. His No. 1 strength is adaptability. He’s a complete fighter.
CRAWFORD I was naturally gifted with an ability to move, but my coaches brought it out of me as an amateur. The power came a bit later. A complete fighter can fight going forward or backward, counter, move well and take a punch. I put in a lot of work to learn multiple styles.
TRAINER The guy is really good at being as comfortable as a southpaw as he is orthodox, and that’s very difficult.
CRAWFORD I’m comfortable with either hand. I think all the practice that I had as an amateur going southpaw or orthodox made me what I am today.
TRAINER The first time I ever saw Viktor Postol hurt by a pretty good puncher was against Crawford in 2016. Crawford’s boxing ability is even better than his punching ability. Khan’s speed will get to him a bit, but once Crawford catches up to Khan, I think he’ll knock him out. Middle rounds.
CRAWFORD Before we get in the ring, I can’t speak on anything we don’t know for sure. All that will be answered after the fight.
BY THE NUMBERS
42
Until Jose Benavidez Jr. outlanded him once last fall, Crawford had a streak of 42 straight rounds in which he outconnected his opponents.
12
Crawford is 12-0 in title fights-the most wins among active American fighters.
38
Crawford outlanded Benavidez 186-92 for the fight, with 38 percent being body shots.
* Watch Crawford take on Khan on April 20 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN PPV.