Boxing News Boxing News
A picture may be worth a thousand words but a stamp is forever. Just ask WBC super lightweight champion”The Iceman” Viktor Postol, who presented a larger than life commemorative stamp of himself to his opponent WBO junior welterweight titlist Terence “Bud” Crawford at today’s Beverly Hills press conference.
The undefeated world champions announced their 12-round world title unification fight to determine the lineal king of the exciting 140-pound division.
The stamp not only featured Postol’s image but also foreshadowed the result of their upcoming fight, with a caption that included Postol’s record after their rumble, complete with projected record and unified titles.
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor Terence Crawford stays this Postol courier from the swift completion of unifying the titles,” said Freddie Roach, Postol’s trainer. “Come July 23, Postol will deliver just like he did against Lucas Matthyse.”.
After viewing the artwork, a bemused Crawford told Team Postol, “There’s only one place for junk mail and that’s the shredder. I’m going to cancel your stamp and your reign as WBC champion on July 23. The new face of boxing isn’t on that stamp, it’s in front of you.”
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Tecate and the motion picture “Hands of Stone,” 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.
Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs), of Omaha, Neb., already a two-division world champion, has won four of his last five bouts by stoppage. The consensus Top-10 pound-for-pound fighter will be making his MGM Grand Garden debut in his third title defense of his WBO junior welterweight championship crown.
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 world champion Lucas Matthysse to capture the vacant WBC super lightweight title on October 3, 2015. Having won two of his last three fights by knockout, the Freddie Roach-trained Postol will be making his first defense of that title.
Tickets, priced at $304, $204, $104, and $54, not including applicable service fees, went on sale today. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets are also available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or ticketmaster.com.
