TEAM CRAWFORD TO PACQUIAO: “Give Us a Chance To Take That Torch From You!”

He is going to take a day or two or so to chill after showing off his stuff to Nebraska and the boxing world on Saturday night. Terence Crawford day-after did some grilling, and then hit his grandma’s favorite Japanese place for her birthday celebration on Sunday.

But right quick, it’s back to the laboratory, back to the gym, back to grinding away on a quest to become an acknowledged pound for pound ace…and damn right, be the man to take that torch from Manny Pacquiao.

Pacman is today the best known active boxer on the planet, but his days as an active participant are waning. Word is, he will glove up one more time, likely on April 9, before hanging the mitts up and choosing to dive into deeper political waters. He is aiming to snag a Senate seat, but first, wants to ready himself for one more tangle, one more test of will and skill as a professional pugilist. So, who gets that coveted slot to be his last dance partner? Brian McIntyre, trainer and co-manager to Crawford, has a suggestion.

“Give us a chance to take that torch from you, Manny,” Macintyre told me Monday, as he readied his bags for the flight to the WBO convention, in Florida. “The win over Jean Saturday went just as we planned. We knew he’d be in good-a** shape, he was real game. We knew all he had was the right, no jab. So you heard me tell Terence, jab at his right, throw him off, and then Terence came over the top with the left.”

The Crawford crew will be in attendance at the Tim Bradley-Brandon Rios bout Nov. 7 and Macintyre would be pleased if his kid, who drew much praise as word spread of his philanthropic deeds, got that Pacman fight.

If some people want to say Terence is not a big enough name, he’s ready to counter that. “2014 Fighter of the Year! And who else they wanna fight? Not Tim Bradley for a third time, fans don’t want that,” Macintyre continued. “Amir Khan, he’s all over the place, giving deadlines, he seems desperate, wants Mayweather and now Manny. Also, he’s 147 now…Manny is best suited at 140, we are 140. We think Pacquiao is a real warrior, wants that challenge, and he’s a guy you want to share the ring with, all that he’s accomplished in boxing. It will be a good fight for both countries, and it would be two guys who fight hard for what they believe in outside the ring, the charities and stuff, and then they are warriors come fight time, out comes that warrior instinct. Here’s our message to Manny:
give us a chance to take that torch from you…the sport needs that new blood, to carry the torch!”

Pacman hasn’t ever dodged a challenge; so if maybe some close to him want a less athletic and explosive and ambidextrous test, well, I think he may be the sort to say heck with that, let’s see if this next generation possible superstar can get the better of me. We…shall…see.

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