Crawford Fishing For Pacman Bout, Impresses In Demo Job on Jean

No subterfuge, this one was presented as an exhibition.

Terence Crawford was supposed to win, and look good, make people start to think of him as a top five pound for pounder, when he gloved up against Dierry Jean in Nebraska on Saturday, Oct. 24, and on HBO.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Crawford was in control, a boss of his domain, smart and smooth and patient, a la Golovkin. He admitted after that he’d been irked by trash talk from Jean and company, and even held on to the ire, asking Jean if it’d been worth it. He also said he’s ready for Pacman, and asked promoter Bob Arum to make it happen.

An early knockdown signaled maybe an early end, but Jean held on. Until round ten, when Bud went into full nasty mode. The ref saw enough and stepped in to halt the event.

If a fight with Manny Pacquiao was in his cross hairs, well, we wonder if he may have been too effective; would Pacman really want that?

Jean earned his keep, landed a few stiff rights on the way, but was in over his head.

Crawford’s WBO 140 pound crown was up for the taking.

In the first, the 28-year-old Crawford (5-8; 140-156 fight night) was smart. Jean wasn’t out of depth, but he went down, off a right hook, at the end of the first. Crawford went lefty with 25 seconds to go, and yes, it worked. In the second, the 33-year-old Jean (from Haiti; 5-6 1/2; 140-155 on fight night), who lost his step up fight, to Lamont Peterson, looked at a lefty to start the round. The snappy jab was hated by Jean, and he was hesitant to throw. He got wobbled off a right hook, again, right before the round ended.

In the third, we saw lefty TC so in control. Same for fourth; Jean was befuddled by the hand speed. He moved right, into the power left, ouch. TC pressed on the gas late in the fourth. Jean did exit the round.

To the fifth, we saw Jean, as his pal David Lemieux watched from the stands, paw a jab, find it hard to think of useful offense. TC’s accelerated combos excited the crowd. In round six, after hearing his trainer ask for more jabs, and to get lower, Jean didn’t have better luck. Crawford snapped a most annoying jab, and Jean hated that, and feared throwing with everything behind it because he knew the counter would be fierce. A righty, he flurried and the crowd adored it. Jean was mugging some, smiling, trying to, what, lighten the mood?

In the seventh, we saw Jean snap a jab, short arming it. TC’s threat of offense was great defense for the Nebraskan. To round eight…Bud kept the distance he wanted, and would he close the distance, after Brian Mcintyre asked for that? A right by Jean landed clean…then Bud ate another. The right was a wide shot, Bud thought he’d be slipping it.

In the ninth, Bud came out irked. He closed the distance, but Jean had adapted some, and was looking out for the right hook. A straight left slipped in, though. Then down went Jean, with eight seconds left. He ate a behind the head shot as he was going down. In round ten, we saw TC in hunter mode, finisher mode. He was landing lots and the ref looked hard. Then he landed a sharp right! Then Jean was eating, and running, and the ref said no mas.