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The goal is for the welterweight division of boxing to have an undisputed champion in the not-so-distant future. But there are many steps to go before a final clash will happen.
One of these steps will take place on Saturday night in Omaha, New Brunswick, where Terence Crawford will be defending for the first time his WBO welterweight title against the brave challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. 4 KOs) in a weight fight 10-round feather against veteran Viorel Simion (21-2, 9 KOs). Other map accesses are visible on ESPN Plus.
Crawford, who unified his belt at 140 pounds, won his 147 pound title by stopping Jeff Horn of Australia in the ninth round of their fight last June in Las Vegas. Crawford is ranked among the best pound-to-pound boxers in this sport at 33-0 with 24 KO's. But IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence; WBC Champion Shawn Porter; and WBA champion Keith Thurman. The hope is that by the end of 2019, two of them will meet for the undisputed title.
"We are going to pick on all these guys," said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, Crawford's promoter. "We do not allow anything, no politics, nothing to embarrass us. The fighters want to do it. We want to do it. Let's do it. We will find a solution. "
For Crawford to be part of it, he must overtake Benavidez, who is 27-0 with 18 knockouts. Former light welterweight champion, Benavidez was screened for stardom before being shot in the leg and hand in August 2016. This will be his third fight since the incident. He faces the hurdle of fighting Crawford in his home town.
"It's time to show the world what I can do," said Benavidez. "I was expecting it all my life. I'm going to take his belt. I'm not scared. "
Between the two camps, there is a lot of composure, Benavidez accusing Crawford of having ducked him in the past and proclaiming himself a better boxer than the champion.
"He has confidence in himself and his abilities," Crawford said. "On top of that, I feel like he's trying to strengthen his self-confidence even more by telling himself what he's one of the best. But come fight us at night, all that will happen is the window and we will have to fight. And then it's going to be set up or closed. "
When he was last seen in this region, the great Fedor Emelianenko was defeated by former Giant Matt Mitrione during his first appearance at Madison Square Garden. He hopes to write a better ending when he meets Chael Sonnen at Bellator 208 at NYCB Live at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale.
Emelianenko is considered by many to be the best MMA fighter of all time, a status with which his opponent is in agreement.
"I think Fedor is great," said Sonnen. "A lot of people say that he's the best of all time, and I'm one of those people, but the best heavyweight of all time is to face the best fighter of all time. "
Emelianenko and Sonnen meet in the semifinals of the World Heavyweight Championship. Tickets remain available. The fight will be visible on the DAZN app.
"I'm looking forward to this fight," Emelianenko said. "I'm getting ready very seriously. He is a very serious opponent. He fought the best fighters. I approached my camp at training very seriously. "
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