Crawford to fight Zepeda on Oct


By William Lloyd: Bob Arum is already planning on matching WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford against Josh Taylor in early 2022 after his next defense against Jose Zepeda (34-2, 26 KOs) in October 22 or 23rd.

Arum is excited about undisputed 140lb champion Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) going up to 147 to take on Crawford in Edinburgh, Scotland. It would be a battle of the unbeaten, provided they win their next fights.

Taylor, 30, has an easy WBO mandatory defense in November against Jack Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs) in Scotland.

Compared to some of Taylor’s tougher fights of his career against Jose Ramirez and Regis Prograis, Catterall will be a relative piece of cake.

If Teofimo Lopez hadn’t come down with a bad case of COVID 19, it would be wiser for Taylor to stay at 140 and defend his four titles against him in late 2021.

However, if Teofimo can return to the ring in time to face his mandatory George Kambosos Jr next, Teo will likely face Vasily Lomachenko in a rematch on ESPN PPV.

“Josh [Taylor] is a major talent,” Arum said to Sky Sports. “He will be fighting Jack Catterall in November. Then, we hope, early next year, we will be able to do a fight that will blow the lid off of everything in the UK.”

While some boxing fans may see Crawford as being too good for Taylor, that not be the case, Crawford is turning 34 on September 28th, and he’s no spring chicken.

We saw past his prime Kell Brook, 34, land some major shots on Crawford in his last fight in November. It was lucky for Crawford that he was able to catch Brook with a sneaky right hook that stunned him in the fourth round. Crawford might have been in trouble if not for that punch.

It’s interesting that Taylor, the fighter with more belts and the bigger star in the UK, would have to move up to 147 to face Crawford.

If anything, Crawford should be the one that meets Taylor at his weight rather than the opposite way around. Maybe it won’t matter. It’s only seven pounds difference.

“That would be Taylor challenging Crawford for the welterweight title,” said Arum.

As long as Crawford beats Zepeda in October, we’ll see the Taylor fight in early 2022. Taylor is on a roll right now, having beaten these excellent fighters in his last five fights:

  • Jose Ramirez
  • Apinun Khongsong
  • Regis Prograis
  • Ryan Martin
  • Ivan Baranchyk
  • Viktor Postol

“It would be primetime in the UK. We’d love to do it there in the spring with 60,000 people in Scotland. My grandson says Edinburgh is a fantastic city!” said Arum.

If Taylor can beat Crawford, it would set up some big money fights against Errol Spence Jr or Manny Pacquiao. There would be massive interest in a fight between Taylor and Spence or Pacquiao.

Taylor wants Pacquiao or Spence

“Pacquiao has got the Errol Spence fight coming up, but [we’ve] made the conversations and the connections, and I’m pretty sure they’ve seen me fighting as well,” said Josh Taylor.

The money that Taylor can make fighting Spence or Pacquiao would likely be better than what he’ll get facing Crawford.


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