Terence Crawford defended fighters Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney, arguing against the criticism they’ve been receiving from fans.
Crawford points out that Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) is one of the youngest undisputed champions in history, and he feels he “showed heart” getting up from knockdowns in his recent loss to Ryan Garcia last April.
Fans weren’t impressed by Haney becoming the undisputed champion at lightweight for two reasons:
- Defeating George Kambosos Jr. to become undisputed: Kambosos Jr was not rated highly, and his career is in the mud, where it should have been, to begin with.
- Huge size advantage: Shakur was viewed as a weight bully when he competed in the 135-lb division.
- Email champion status: Haney’s WBC lightweight came through email. He didn’t beat anyone to capture it, which tarnishes his accomplishment of becoming undisputed.
“Devin’s the youngest undisputed champion in history. A lot of people look at the Ryan Garcia fight and criticize it, but Devin kept getting up, kept fighting, showed heart, and showed determination,” said Terence Crawford to Bernie Tha Boxer, coming to the defense of Devin Haney for his performance against Ryan Garcia last April.
Haney should have never gotten out of the seventh round against Ryan Garcia because he was saved by the referee, who stopped the action to take a point off from Kingry for hitting on the brake. He hadn’t given Ryan a warning. Moreover, the referee should have stopped the fight in that round because Haney kept falling down.
“It’s our people slandering him. Shakur boxes his way through a fight, our people criticise him when it’s called boxing. I don’t care if you hit like a truck or a butterfly; as long as you get the job done, that’s all that matters,” said Crawford.
Fighters to expected to entertain, and Shakur Stevenson fails to do that. It’s not enough to just win in this era of the sport. There’s too much competition from other sports, cable television, and the Internet for fighters just to win. They must entertain, or they’re ignored and marginalized, which is what has happened with Shakur.
What Crawford appears to be saying here is that fans should give false support just out of loyalty rather than telling it like it is. That’s not he way things are in the real world. If you perform poorly at your job, you face the guillotine.
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