Crawford, Postol And Their Trainers Talk About Unification Showdown

WBO champion Terence Crawford and WBC champion Postol face off in a junior welterweight world title unification fight on Saturday, July 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

How will it feel fighting in Vegas for first time? How will it feel to make your Pay-Per-View Debut?

Terence Crawford:
“It is an honor to fight in Las Vegas, especially at the MGM Grand where so many historic fights have taken place and so many great fighters have made their mark. It’s the same way I felt when I headlined my first card at Madison Square Garden earlier this year.

“Many fighters dream of fighting on such a big stage but it’s something you have to earn. I have worked very hard to get to this point in my career – to earn the right to headline my first pay-per-view event. I can’t think of a better place to do it than in the fight capital of the world.

“It’s very exciting, but I need to keep my eye on the ball. There will be a lot of hard work to do in training camp to make my pay-per-view debut successful. This isn’t just opening night for a new phase of my career. I want this to be the beginning of a long run as boxing’s next pound for pound star and a worthy successor to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.”

Brian McIntyre:
“Fighting in Las Vegas in the main event and headlining a pay-per-view is a tremendous honor. Years ago I never imagined we would get to this point. We are representing Omaha on the biggest stage boxing has to offer and Terence is not about to let his hometown down.

“He is proud to represent Omaha and he will be carrying that pride in his heart and soul when he enters the ring on July 23rd and beats Viktor Postol. We know we are in this position because of hard work and more hard work.

“And with hard work came success, success that produced an undefeated record against the best fighters and two world titles in two different divisions. No one has ever been able to outthink or outfight Terence and that’s a lesson Postol is going to learn the hard way – in front of a very big audience.”

Do you feel like the underdog in this fight? What would a win do for your career?

Vikor Postol:
“I do not consider myself an underdog in this fight. Terence Crawford’s fans might consider me as the underdog but that does not bother me. I’m 100% confident in myself and in my victory on July 23rd and the reasons are simple. I work harder in training camp than my opponents because I have to. Because I want to.

“I have the best trainer working with me and his name his Freddie Roach. He has been named Trainer of the Year a record seven times and he is in the Hall of Fame. Crawford has no one like that on his team. Since I have been training with Freddie I have knocked out two of the three opponents I have faced – Lucas Matthysse and Selcuk Aydin.

“Both were No. 2 world-rated contenders and both times I was considered the underdog. I have passed every test that I have taken as a professional fighter and with the best teacher in boxing working with me I intend to pass this one on July 23rd with flying colors. This victory will prove to everyone that I am the best fighter at 140 pounds and the king of the division.”

Freddie Roach:
“I do not feel that Viktor is an underdog going into this fight. Why should I? In his two toughest tests – Lucas Matthysse and Selcuk Aydin – he didn’t just knock them out, he took their will to fight away. He broke them down brick by brick.

“His experience against blue chip opposition has been great preparation for his fight with Terence Crawford. Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for Crawford. He has a lot of talent. But I think this is going to come down to resumes and I think Postol has fought tougher and better opponents than Crawford.

“Postol even spent an entire training camp with Manny Pacquiao in 2014 when Manny was preparing for Chris Algieri. Viktor more than held his own against Manny. Crawford is going to find out that defending a title against Hank Lundy and Dierry Jean is a lot different than fighting a fellow undefeated world champion like Viktor Postol.

“A win for Viktor will mean that the U.S. and the world has a new star in boxing. A star as bright as boxing has ever seen.”

The HBO Sports Special, “Terence Crawford: My Fight”, debuts Saturday, July 9 at 11:15 p.m. on HBO.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Tecate and the motion picture “Hands of Stone,” the Crawford vs. Postol WBO/WBC/The Ring junior welterweight world title unification fight takes place Saturday, July 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT.

Remaining tickets are priced at $304, $204, $104, and $54, not including applicable service fees. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call AXS at (888) 929-7849. Tickets will also be available for purchase at mgmgrand.com or AXS.com.