Crawford and Lopez prove that they deserve more, but when will they get their chance?

In closing, there is no doubt Terence Crawford was the far superior fighter on Saturday night. Crawford got an unusual TKO in round six, as Amir Khan did not pursue after being hit by an accidental low.

But before that, it was Crawford who dominated the action. A right counter-hand and a left cleaning hook had the often fragile Khan on the canvas in the first round. In subsequent rounds, Crawford surgically dissected Khan, who managed to get some good shots but was simply overwhelmed by his opponent's tactical brilliance.

Crawford is currently the most adaptable and versatile fighter in the sport. He has a supernatural ability to adapt on the fly, which increases his constant change of posture. In one way or another, Omaha's best will first decipher his enemies, then decimate them with a cold, calculating efficiency.

He is as ruthless as sport. That's why Khan's coach, Virgil Hunter, told ESPN that he had decided to end the fight when he would have done so. He understood that his job was to protect his fighter and ultimately he did his job. Hunter could not stop him from losing, but he had saved her from a prolonged beating.

The consensus is that Crawford and Vasiliy Lomachenko are the two best sports fighters. The question right now is that no one can beat them, but can they find decent dance partners as long as they are still in their physical state? Although Lomachenko, who defeated Anthony Crolla last week in Los Angeles, is being set up to eventually unify the lightweight division, the prospects are not as clear for Crawford.

This does not mean that there is no favorite for the fight to lead. The boxing world wants the showdown at Crawford with Errol Spence Jr., the featherweight champion for IBF, who recently cleared Mikey Garcia at the AT & T stadium. Although it looks like Spence has more chances Options on his side since he's won his title against Kell Brook in 2017, he has faced players like Lamont Peterson, Carlos O and Campo and Garcia.

"The welterweight division is packed," said Spence in the night of March 16. "You have Terence Crawford, you have Shawn Porter, you have Keith Thurman, you have guys like (Yordenis) Ugas, you got Danny Garcia, so he's packed, and that's a busy division."

But there's only one fight that really matters: Crawford-Spence. Everything else is really a consolation prize. Fans want this fight, Crawford and Spence need it for their legacy, and boxing – and its energy brokers – need it for its own credibility.

"Everyone will have to cooperate," said Spence to the question of how it could be consumed.

After the main event on Saturday night, Bob Arum was in the ring and made it clear that he would do everything in his power to lead this fight to his goal, but that it is Al Haymon, who manages the Spence's career, and that it would continue to be an obstructionist. Basically, both have to dance and, unfortunately, it will not be easy.

Crawford has had a series of solid victories, ranging from Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Viktor Postol. He is a three-division champion and was the undisputed ruler of the junior welterweight. This is certainly a solid resume, but it lacks that signature.

The same could be said of Spence. Both need each other, and if they meet, the boxing world will be a treat.

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Although Crawford is present, it is clear that Teofimo Lopez is the future.

Lopez defeated Edis Tatli in four rounds on Saturday night, finishing Tatli with one right hand to the body. It's not just that Lopez wins, but it's the flair with which he does it. As he did with William Silva, Mason Menard and Diego Magdaleno, Lopez left an impression on the audience on Saturday.

Unlike Shakur Stevenson, another bright hope who took the distance while dominating Christopher Diaz, Lopez has once again let people want more.

"We promised to take charge of the show and once again I took it back," Lopez said. "I did not have the best camp, but I did what I had to do and I came out victorious.I knew I was going to take it with a bullet in the body.I'm l & # 39; I have softened and finished. "

There is growing concern that the young pugilistic prodigy may need a more professional and stable training environment, but it is difficult to reverse the results so far. In fact, it was more or less an effort on the part of Lopez, who showed only flashes of his vast offensive arsenal to start this fight against Tatli, who had never been arrested during his 33 previous fights.

That night, the talented and precocious Lopez was the main fight to support the card à la carte. This will probably be the last time that he will be on an undercard. Despite his relative inexperience of only 13 fights, it is clear that Lopez is an advanced prospect who has become a light and legitimate contender.

But do not tell Lopez anymore that he's a prospect. Instead, he thinks he's a future world champion. It's quite possible, but this first championship opportunity will probably not be against Lomachenko.

There are two realities in the scenario that prevent a megafight against Lomachenko. First, Lomachenko (holder of the WBA and WBO titles) made it clear that unless Lopez wears a belt around his waist, he has no interest in facing him. And secondly, Lopez is finding it increasingly difficult to reach the 135-pound limit. At 21, his body naturally develops out of division.

Given this dilemma, the plans are really ambitious for Lopez. Ideally, he would win some extra fights that would put him in a position to fight for one of the lightest titles, but to get to that point, he would need better competition. There are not many people who want to get into the ring with him at the moment, but opponents will be found and the path to a title will continue.

Once Top Rank is able to put all this together, Lopez will become the main event – a place he has earned and will probably stay for a very long time.