Terence Crawford is fully prepared for his first true spotlight bout in boxing's "money" division. Despite claims and verbal jabs from his opponent on Saturday night -- WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn -- Crawford continues to be humble and calculated before the two take center stage in Las Vegas.
Horn (18-0, 12 KOs) sent shockwaves across the sport when he scored the shocking unanimous decision win over Manny Pacquiao in July 2017, earning him the title he will defend on Saturday night. Though thoughts of some home cooking were in the minds of many fight fans, Pacquiao refused to utilize he mandatory rematch clause against the Aussie. Horn made the first defense of the title in December 2017 against Gary Corcoran, where he retained the belt with a TKO in Round 11.
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Crawford (32-0, 23 KOs) will be getting into the ring for the first time since his third-round TKO win over Julius Indongo in December 2017 where he became the first fighter to unify all four belts in any weight division since Jermain Taylor in 2006. Following the bout, Crawford ended up officially vacating his WBO junior welterweight championship to move up to welterweight to crown him as the mandatory challenger to Horn.
Crawford vs. Horn takes place on Saturday, June 9, inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and Crawford is a sizable favorite (-850) over the Australian (+525). The undercard of the event will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+ with the main card kicking off at 9:30 p.m. In addition to the main event, a 10-round lightweight bout between Jose Pedraza and Antonio Moran will be featured as part of the main card as well as a 10-round welterweight showdown between Jose Benavidez and Frank Rojas.
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According to reports, if Crawford and Benavidez are successful on Saturday night, Top Rank is hoping to match them against each other later this year.
Below is a look at the complete Crawford vs. Horn fight card set to take place in Las Vegas.
Fight | Weight Class |
---|---|
Jeff Horn (c) vs. Terence Crawford | WBO welterweight championship (12 rounds) |
Jose Pedraza vs. Antonio Moran | Lightweight (10 rounds) |
Jose Benavidez vs. Frank Rojas | Welterweight (10 rounds) |
Maxim Dadashev vs. Darleys Perez | Junior Welterweight (10 rounds) |
Shakur Stevenson vs. Aelio Mesquia | Featherweight (8 rounds) |
Steve Nelson vs. Dashon Webster | Light Heavyweight (6 rounds) |
Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Dustin Southichack | Featherweight (6 rounds) |
David Kaminsky vs. Trevor Lavin | Junior Middleweight (6 rounds) |