Terence Crawford Continues to Shine and Move Up the Boxing Ladder

By Andrew “Drew The Picture” Hames

Terence Crawford put on a very powerful display this past Saturday night against the battle-tested veteran and Philadelphian slickster “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, standing as tall and poised in the breezes of Lundy’s flurries as a cornfield stalk at a Nebraskan hoe-down. As he once did with Yuriorkis Gamboa, Crawford weathered Lundy’s fellow clever switch-hitting shots early and often to find the correct tactical avenues to provide an exclamation point that punctuated the subtle middle finger it directed towards his verbally aggressive, trash-talking opponent, an exclamation point that resulted in an overhand left that at least momentarily appeared to have felt to Lundy as if it had came down from the swing of “Hammerin’ John Henry” himself, while followed up by a barrage that probably felt like it came from “Homicide Hank”.

Well, maybe that last part was a bit of an exaggeration, especially with Lundy claiming after the fight that he was hit harder by John Molina Jr, in his only previous stoppage defeat. Suffice to say, he certainly earned Lundy’s respect. All of this said, the part that seems to go untold in this story is that, for all the talk we’ve heard of the fight having been a complete one-sided domination, so too did Lundy earned Crawford’s respect….

One would be hard pressed to find a fighter since Crawford’s defining victory over Gamboa In 2014 that showed nearly as much early resistance, tagged and countered Crawford himself, let alone that genuinely won any rounds against him in the fashion that Lundy opened up the fight with. Contrary to Compubox’s ridiculous assessment of Crawford landing his power shots at a 58 percent connect rate, reality reflected a fight where both fighters had to work to find openings in somewhat of a tit-for-tat affair. This wasn’t exactly Crawford’s previous demolition of Dierry Jean, which may have lasted longer, but was much more of a one-sided affair, with Jean merely taking more punishment over extended rounds…. This wasn’t the active but ultimately ineffective Thomas Dulourme, who seemed anxious but not with much of a fight plan up until the stoppage. This wasn’t Raymundo Beltran against Crawford, who while a crafty veteran and long-time Wildcard Gym warrior himself, was landed upon at will for 12 rounds and scarcely landed any telling blows of his own.

And keep in mind that Gamboa, Dulourme and Jean were all decorated amateurs, whereas Lundy managed a few even or competitive rounds with the phenomenal Crawford without the luxury of much amateur experience at all, merely off the instincts that came with his infamous Philly Gym wars. Beltran win a close decision over Lundy, and was considered by many the best lightweight in the division when Crawford toyed with him. Lundy stood in the pocket with Crawford, slipping punches and getting in a few flush returns along the way. His competitive drive never seemed broken in the fight, even amid the stoppage, in which while he was likely to be stopped at that point anyway, he still went down swinging. Personally, I take exception to the notion that Lundy fought to the tune of a dismissible foe, and simply believe he met a superior overall fighter. Considering the far more competitive effort he gave than Crawford’s recent dance partners, I think he can hold his head high. And I’m all but certain that Philly pride will allow Lundy to go to his grave arguing that it was a premature stoppage, an argument he can at least make since he never stopped trying in the fight to begin with, even after the devastating knockdown. Again, unlike many Crawford victims we’ve seen….

Acknowledging how sensational of a young, rising champion Crawford is can be done without exaggerating his dominance, or demeaning his opponent’s valiant effort. Crawford encountered a tricky style that he himself admitted required some adjusting to, and the reserve and poise he showed in dealing with it and solving it will serve him well in the experience category as his career progresses, making him all the more dangerous for the future. However, if Hank had a few heavier “Hammers” in his gloves when he threw some of the flush counters he hit Crawford with, we may have gotten the only question that seemingly has yet to be answered about Crawford’s prowess, which is how he’d ever respond to getting off the canvas. Were Crawford to go on to have a Hall Of Fame career in which he dominated all of his predecessors from this point on out, we’d be looking at Gamboa and Lundy as the only two fighters to have ever even won rounds against him, or put up any resistance of any kind, and I think that deserves more credit with the boxing public than it’s being given…. Hold your head high Hank…. Philly can still be proud that you backed up your trash talk by at least coming to fight.

Signing off until next time….

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