Tonight a very important and well made match takes places as two undefeated title holders in the 140 lbs division face off, the fight is between Terence “Bud” Crawford” and Julius Indongo.

It’s very rare that we see a true unification bout like this among titleholders. One of the limiting features of the sport today is the various sanctioning bodies, with the big four being the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO. It can be very tough for the title holders in the same division to actually fight each other since each organization has it’s own independent rankings. So kudos to whomever helped this match get made because it’s a great fight happening at just the right time.

Terence Crawford

Crawford is recognized as a top 5 pound for pound boxer by most, and is also most likely right in his prime at the moment. With a record currently of 31-0 with 22 KOs, Crawford is coming off a dominant performance over Felix Diaz Jr, recently. With his momentum still continuing, most people expect Crawford to move up to the welterweight division fairly soon, which sets up a whole host of great fights that could be made.

Just like many other great fighters, Crawford has his own patented style that is displayed during his fights. He usually starts out in the orthodox stance, gets tagged early on, then switches to southpaw and begins to slowly adjust and then dominate his opponent. His ability to adapt to what the opponent gives him is what makes him such a great fighter, along with other characteristics. He keeps calm and fights smart even in the later rounds, and he has shown a mean streak that many highly technical boxers don’t possess.

Julius Indongo

Nobody knew who Namibian Julius Indongo was one year ago, but right now he is on a short yet extremely impressive streak in boxing. Last December, he KO’d undefeated title holder Eduard Troyanovsky with a single punch in the first round to capture Troyanovsky’s IBF world title at 140 lbs. His next bout was a unification bout against British veteran Ricky Burns, and Indongo pitched a shutout, getting a unanimous decision win.

Julius got a rather late start in the sport in his late teens, but went on to represent Namibia in the 2008 Olympic Games, and is currently undefeated as a professional with a record of 22-0 with 11 KOs. He is very tall for the 140lbs division, and has an awkward, long-range southpaw style. He showed great power against Troyanovksy and then displayed good technical skills against Burns in the next fight. He has shown a willingness to fight the very best fighters in a row, and has always gone to the opponent's home town for these last few fights, which is a rare trait today. He went to Russia to capture Troyanovsky’s, then went over to England to take Burns title away, and now he is going to Terence Crawford’s home state of Nebraska, to unify the titles.

Regardless of the results of tonight’s fight, no one can question this Namibian’s fortitude to face the very best fighters in their own back yards without complaining. He is a bit of throwback fighter in that way.

My Prediction

This is an extremely close fight, and a very important one for the sport of boxing, in spite of so much hype going towards the Mayweather vs McGregor circus show. This is a great matchup that deserves more attention than it will probably get.

I’ve been enjoying watching Bud Crawford fight for a few years now and he is proven without a shadow of doubt that he is a top level athlete. Some of his recent wins have been so dominant that you could consider them masterclasses. I have to go with Crawford due to his ability to adapt and more experience at the highest level of the sport.

However, I predict that this could definitely be Crawford’s toughest fight to date.

He is facing a very versatile boxer-puncher who has more height, reach, and an awkward style. It won’t be easy at all, but Bud will probably find a way to adjust and get a close but unanimous decision.

banner thanks to @son-of-satire
Pics:
instagram.com/p/BX6K-8gFF2H/?taken-by=tbudcrawford
giphy via giphy.com/gifs/southpaw-s-4BdP3naXJReRG
The Fight Diary via thefightdiary.com/2016/12/15/ricky-burns-could-face-julius-indongo-or-paulie-malignaggi/

Sources:
http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/447121
http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/503822