Terence Crawford vs Viktor Postol is the best fight in boxing. Period. (Press Conference recap, with quotes and pictures)

It’s a known fact in boxing that “super fights” can’t be promoted into existence. There are numerous examples we could point to where promoters saw dollar signs in matching two fighters only to have it all fall apart because one fighter (or both) couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain. The super fight that comes into existence organically is the best one. It’s the one that delivers both in the ring and on the bottom line. Terence Crawford vs Viktor Postol is not a super fight in the traditional sense, however is carries with it every sign and sympton that it truly is the kind of fight that we seem to rarely get in boxing.

On paper we have the best super lightweight in the world, Terence Crawford, putting his world title on the line against the second best guy in the division, Viktor Postol. The gap between the two is negotiable in terms of in-ring talent. On a foundational level, this is the best fight in the world between two no nonsense guys meeting in the prime of their careers, and the other super fights are not on this level.

Let’s just bring up the other super fights promoters and fans are salivating over and break them down since we’ve already mentioned them.

It’s safe to say that Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin and Andre Ward vs Sergey Kovalev are the two other super fights we could mention. If we want to be generous we could throw in Naoya Inoue vs Roman Gonzalez. (We really shouldn’t be that generous though.) Where these fights are beat by Crawford vs Postol is that there are no weight concerns here. These are similar sized fighters who rehydrate around the same amount. They aren’t moving up or down in a division to make things happen. They’re both world class champions in their division and play by the rules set forth by whoever dictates those things depending on where they fight. It all boils down to one simple fact, and that is that there is no built-in excuse for the loser. This is a legitimate 50–50 fight where everything is truly equal. None of these is true for the previously mentioned fights.

The winner of Terence Crawford vs Viktor Postol will find themselves seated number 1 pound-for-pound for a brief period of time. The conversation may need revisiting should the Ward-Kovalev fight happen, but even then it’s a conversation to see if the winner is still 1 or will he get bumped down to 2. This is especially important for Crawford because a win for him would truly cement himself as the best fighter in the world with the resume to back it up against any fighter in the world.

In our current era where fighters choose to avoid each other for the sake of building up anticipation for increased pay-per-view buys and live gate revenue, this fight should be applauded. This is an exception to what the rule seems to be these days. The downfall to this meeting, and this is the criticism you’ll find everywhere you look on the Internet, is that the pay-per-view buyrate will not be a fraction of what this fight deserves. Crawford and Postol just don’t command buys the way other pay-per-view stars of the past have.

But this would be an error. This is a fight that has quickly gone personal. At today’s press conference, Viktor Postol was commemorated with a stamp that will begin circulating in Ukraine in honor of his fight. An enlarged version of the stamp was given to Crawford’s team and things took a personal turn. Postol’s team offered the stamp as a gift to Crawford’s team and the response was that they will postmark Postol’s ass back to Ukraine. We’ve seen this side of Crawford and his team where things become more than just boxing, but a personal attack on his pride and respect.

This is a fight that should be happening years down the line if we follow the blueprint left for us by Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Because they’re doing it this early in their rivalry, Crawford, Postol, and Top Rank deserve credit for taking the risk of putting this fight on. Viktor Postol made it very clear that he knows how versatile Crawford’s style is, however he wasn’t stressed about it. “I’m pretty confident because I know that he can fight orthodox and southpaw.” He told me. He said he would be discussing the plan with Freddie Roach when he returned to America on May 27. Postol’s confidence only grew in seeing Crawford face to face today, stating “I see that he’s not confident and doesn’t want to fight with me.”

When asked about Crawford’s team crossing out his face on the giant stamp and he said, “It doesn’t bother me that they crossed my face out. It just says they’re unprofessional. I am not insulted. I am motivated.”

I got a chance to talk with Crawford and he was as smart and calculated in his speaking as he is in his fighting. I asked him if he felt any pressure to sell the fight or do anything different given it was his first appearance on pay-per-view. Crawford responded with a question, “Be myself and the fight sells itself. This is the number 1 vs number 2, the two best int he division, undefeated, same record, what more could you ask for?”

Crawford expressed no worry with Postol and the problems he might pose with his size. He said, “He does what he has to do to get the job done, but I feel I will neutralize a lot of what he likes to do and I will be victorious.”

Both fighters promised victory and there was a sense that they were both telling the truth. While a draw is always a possibility, it might not be on the table this time. With the bad blood that is brewing, crushing power both have displayed, and intelligence both fight with in the ring, you get the sense that one man has to prevail. It’s a shame that this fight is being overlooked in the wake of all the Canelo-Golovkin drama. Crawford-Postol is the fight boxing wants. It’s the fight it needs.

Here are the pictures I took.

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