Less than a month before they hit the ring at Madison Square Garden, Terence Crawford and Amir Khan fielded questions from the media.
The two fighters, joined by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, took part in a conference call that Fightful participated in and was asked a number of questions on a variety of topics about the fight itself. The two boxers are set to fight for the WBO welterweight title on April 20 in the main event of an ESPN pay-per-view card.
Below are a couple of interesting notes from the conference call:
- In response to a question regarding the authenticity of his tweet to IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., Bob Arum said he does writes his own tweets and even jokingly said he tweets better than U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Breaking down the fight, Khan said on Crawford: "Terence is a very skillful fighter, and I always do well against skillful fighters. This is going to be like a game of chess at times. He comes forward and can punch well and likes to fight as well. So, it’s the best of both worlds and he doesn’t fight the same as me."
- There was some tension between Crawford and a reported who erroneously said this fight was Crawford's pay-per-view debut. This will actually be Crawford's second pay-per-view bout as his PPV debut was against Victor Postol in 2016.
- Crawford's manager Brian McIntyre said Khan fell in the top five opponents Crawford has faced in his pro career.
- Crawford said he never thought he would be facing Khan at all, partially due to Crawford thinking that Khan would be fighting at 154 points especially after fighting Canelo Alvarez at 160 pounds back in 2016.
Below are the rest of the highlights on the conference call, compiled by Fightful lead boxing reporter Carlos Toro:
On the line for the #CrawfordKhan media conference call set to start any minute now.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Bob Arum starts off the call talking about the fight. Calls Amir Khan the pride of England. #CrawfordKhan. Khan said training camp has been going really well.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan said he is not taking this fight lightly. He believe he performs at his best when he is the underdog as he is now against Terence Crawford ahead of their April 20 bout. #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan was asked his thought process over taking a fight against Terence Crawford instead of Kell Brook. Said he does well against skillful fighters such as Crawford. Added that he's been at welterweight longer.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan said he wasn't really himself in his last fight against Samuel Vargas because it is tough to really be motivated for fights against guys he's expected to win. #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Bob Arum was asked about picking Amir Khan as Terence Crawford's opponent for April 20. Arum said it was about giving Crawford the best fights and added that he is a fan of Khan #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
I asked Amir Khan if he has seen Crawford's two welterweight fights and said he believes Crawford he is a very good fighter and is focusing more on the here and now and hopes that Crawford is prepared for him. Added that Khan is also unbeaten at welterweight.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
I also asked Bob Arum the thought process of making #CrawfordKhan a PPV event and said it was a combination of the matchup warranting the PPV and Crawford's success as a TV fighter. Added that this is a matchup the people should come out and support the fighters by buying the PPV
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan said he hopes Terence Crawford is prepared for Khan and added that Crawford has gotten hurt in the past and used the Yuriorkis Gamboa fight from 2014 as an example.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan said he will never look past fights now when asked about a potential fight against Errol Spence Jr. #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Amir Khan stated that he's not leaving anything behind in sparring. Said he's fought against a number of different guys both "orthodox and unorthodox" #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Bob Arum was asked if he writes his own tweets in response to him reaching out to Errol Spence Jr. yesterday: "Everyone works Twitter. Even the President knows how to work Twitter... I plead guilty to writing my own tweets. I use Twitter better than [Donald Trump]." #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Terence Crawford now on the line on this portion of the #CrawfordKhan media conference call. Bob Arum calls Crawford the best welterweight in the world and is a contender for best pound-for-pound fighter today.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
There was some issues with Dan Rafael and Terence Crawford's camp just now, starting with Rafael accidentally calling Crawford's fight against Amir Khan his first PPV main event when it is actually his second...That exchange was awkward. #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Terence Crawford dropped from the call for a couple of minutes. They're trying to get him back. Bob Arum does not sound pleased.
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Brian BoMac has been answering questions while they are trying to get Terence Crawford on the line. BoMac said Amir Khan ranks in the top 5 of opponents for Crawford #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Terence Crawford is back in the line. Crawford said he never envisioned a fight against Amir Khan, but he doesn't look that far ahead. Crawford thought Khan would fight at 154. #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Terence Crawford was asked about Bob Arum's tweet last night on a potential Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr. Crawford said the fight is makeable and calls it the biggest fight in the welterweight division #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
I asked Terence Crawford if he's trying to avoid being complacent by not listening to all the chatter of him being such a big favorite against Amir Khan. He told me that he is never complacent and that he is preparing for the best Amir Khan possible on April 20 #CrawfordKhan
— Carlos Toro (@CarlosToro360) March 26, 2019
Fightful spoke to Arum and that video can be seen on Fightful’s MMA and Boxing YouTube channel.
