It’s a unification bout between the WBO and WBC World Super Lightweight title belts so that means you’re going to have to pay for it. Terence Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) takes on Viktor Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) for all the marbles, belts, tie tacks, fancy hats, what have you tonight in Las Vegas.
In the undercard, the vacant WBO Featherweight title belt is up for grabs in a fight between OScar Valdez (19-0, 17 KOs) and Matias Adrian Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs).
As usual, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from HBO PPV.
LAS VEGAS, NV. (May 10, 2016) — Undefeated junior welterweight champions TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD and “The Iceman” VIKTOR POSTOL will go mano a mano, in a 12-round world title unification fight, to determine the lineal king of the exciting 140-pound division. The Crawford vs. Postol world championship event will take place on Saturday, July 23, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. It will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.
Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate and the motion picture “Hands of Stone,” tickets to Crawford vs. Postol, priced at $304, $204, $104, and $54, not including applicable service fees, go on sale Today! Tuesday, May 10, at 4:00 p.m. ET / 1:00 p.m. PT. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call 1-888-9-AXS-TIX. Tickets will also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or axs.com.
Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs), of Omaha, Neb., a two-division world champion who has won four of his last five bouts by stoppage, will be making his MGM Grand Garden debut in his third title defense as World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior welterweight world champion. The consensus Top-10 pound-for-pound fighter will be looking to build on his star-making 2014 which featured three world championship victories as well as Fighter of the Year honors from the Boxing Writers Association of America and major media alike. Crawford, 28, captured the vacant WBO junior welterweight crown on April 18, 2015, via a devastating sixth-round knockout of once-beaten No. 2 world-rated contender Thomas Dulorme. He has successfully defended the title twice — stopping No.2 world-rated contender Dierry Jean in front of a packed house at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha on October 24, 2015, and knocking out Top-10 contender Hank Lundy in the fifth round last February 27, at a soldout Theater at Madison Square Garden. Crawford began his career-best year on March 1, 2014, just 13 days short of the sixth anniversary of his professional debut.
Postol (28-0, 12 KOs), from Kiev, Ukraine, put his stamp on the boxing landscape when he scored a 10th-round knockout of the heavily-favored former interim world champion Lucas Matthysse to capture the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight world title on October 3, 2015. World-rated No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, Postol and Matthysse went toe to toe throwing every weapon in the arsenals at each other until Postol caught Matthysse with a right uppercut and a left hook effectively turning out the lights on one of boxing’s most fearsome punchers. A former sparring partner of eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, Postol’s resume includes victories over top-rated contenders Selcuk Aydin, Jose Lopez, Lundy, and former world champion DeMarcus Corley. Postol, who has been trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach for his last three fights, with two of those ending in knockouts, will be making his first defense as the WBC super lightweight champion.
The show is on PPV so open up that wallet and watch it with me. The show starts at 9 p.m.
