Terence Crawford vs Viktor Postol

Terence Crawford settled the question of supremacy among the world’s leading super-lightweights by comprehensively outpointing Viktor Postol over twelve rounds at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on July 23, 2016. Crawford retained his World Boxing Organisation championship, took Postol’s World Boxing Council title and added the vacant Ring championship after sending the Ukrainian down twice and winning by margins of 118–107 on the cards of Guido Cavalleri and Don Trella and 117–108 for Dave Moretti. An announced crowd of 7,027 watched the meeting of two unbeaten champions, each entering with a record of 28 victories and no defeats. Crawford weighed 140 lb and Postol 139½ lb. Tony Weeks was the referee.

Postol had won his championship nine months earlier by defeating the heavily favoured Lucas Matthysse in ten rounds. Tall for the division, with a long jab and a straight right hand, he was expected to present Crawford with the most exacting test of his career. Crawford had already held the lightweight championship before moving to 140 lb, where he had stopped Thomas Dulorme, Dierry Jean and Hank Lundy. The contest was therefore presented not merely as a unification match but as a meeting between the two strongest men in the division. Postol enjoyed advantages in height and reach, while Crawford possessed the greater variety, sharper footwork and the ability to box from either stance.

The opening round was conducted at a cautious pace. Postol advanced behind the left jab, attempting to establish the distance from which he had controlled Matthysse, while Crawford moved lightly around the perimeter and studied the champion’s reactions. Crawford began in the orthodox position but soon changed to southpaw, placing his right foot outside Postol’s lead foot and making the Ukrainian turn before he could set himself. Postol landed occasional jabs but found few opportunities for the right hand. Crawford did not force the attack, preferring to draw Postol forward and counter him after the taller man had reached with his lead.

Crawford’s method became clearer in the second and third rounds. He was content to concede the centre of the ring while refusing to concede control of the contest. Each time Postol stepped towards him, Crawford shifted to his left or sprang backwards beyond the jab, then returned with a straight left or a quick right hook. Postol’s height was of little value because Crawford would not remain at the end of his punches. The Ukrainian began following rather than cutting off the ring, and his attacks became increasingly predictable. Crawford occasionally dropped his hands and invited Postol to lead, confident that his own quicker feet would carry him clear.

The fourth round produced the first indication that Postol was becoming uncomfortable. Crawford increased the speed of his counters, landing a straight left as Postol came forward and turning away before the reply. Postol continued to jab, but the punch was often short or carried little force because he was reaching after a moving target. Crawford’s economy was notable. He did not waste punches against the gloves or shoulders. He waited for Postol to step across the distance, struck cleanly and immediately changed his position. The crowd, quiet during the opening rounds, began responding to the sudden left hands and the ease with which Crawford was escaping danger.

The contest was effectively decided in the fifth. Early in the round, Crawford caught Postol with a right hook as the Ukrainian moved forward. Postol’s glove touched the canvas, and Weeks correctly administered a count. It was a flash knockdown rather than the result of sustained punishment, but it disturbed Postol’s balance and confidence. Crawford attacked with greater purpose after the count, moving rapidly in and out and striking from angles which Postol could not follow. A straight left sent Postol down for the second time later in the round. Again he rose without appearing seriously hurt, but the two knockdowns gave Crawford a commanding advantage and confirmed that Postol could neither control the distance nor safely pursue his opponent.

Postol attempted to recover his position in the sixth and seventh rounds by pressing more firmly behind the jab. Crawford nevertheless remained the quicker man in both thought and movement. He circled away from the right hand, stopped abruptly to counter and then resumed his movement before Postol could answer. When Postol hesitated, Crawford stepped forward with the southpaw jab and drove the left hand through the centre. At close range he was also the more accomplished boxer, tying Postol up or turning him before the Ukrainian could use his superior height to lean and work. Postol’s corner urged him to increase the pressure, but greater effort merely presented Crawford with additional countering opportunities.

By the eighth, frustration had entered Postol’s work. He lunged with the right hand and occasionally crossed his feet while pursuing Crawford. The American remained composed, changing direction without warning and striking when Postol was square. Crawford’s defence was based principally upon distance and anticipation rather than prolonged blocking. Postol seldom reached him with more than one punch at a time, and when the jab landed it was rarely followed by the right. Crawford, by contrast, regularly completed his attacks with two or three blows before withdrawing. His straight left to the body also discouraged Postol from charging forward without preparation.

The ninth and tenth rounds followed the established course. Postol remained willing and physically sound, but he had no effective alteration to make. He could not force Crawford towards the ropes for long enough to work, and he lacked the hand speed to exchange with him in open space. Crawford began taking greater liberties, lowering his hands, feinting and making Postol lead from beyond proper punching range. He struck with the right hook while moving backwards and followed it with the straight left as Postol attempted to regain his balance. The contrast was no longer between Postol’s height and Crawford’s speed, but between a champion still trying to impose his original plan and an opponent who had already dismantled it.

Postol’s difficulties were compounded in the eleventh when Weeks deducted a point for striking Crawford behind the head. The offence occurred as Crawford turned away during an exchange, but Postol had been warned, and the referee imposed the penalty. The deduction left the Ukrainian requiring a knockout to retain his title. He continued to come forward, yet his attacks remained too direct. Crawford picked him off, moved around him and showed no inclination to take unnecessary risks.

Postol made a final effort in the twelfth, advancing with greater urgency and attempting to hold Crawford in front of him. Crawford answered by boxing with the same discipline he had shown throughout. He changed stance, met Postol with straight punches and moved away before the taller man could establish his feet. There was no reckless attempt at a stoppage and no suggestion that Crawford considered the wide lead insufficient. At the final bell, Postol remained upright and capable, but he had been thoroughly outmanoeuvred. His face showed the effects of Crawford’s counters, while Crawford appeared relatively unmarked and raised his arms before the scores were read.

Cavalleri and Trella each returned scores of 118–107, with Moretti recording 117–108. The figures included the two fifth-round knockdowns and Postol’s point deduction in the eleventh. Crawford landed 141 of 388 punches, a rate of 36 per cent, while Postol connected with 83 of 244, or 34 per cent. The percentages alone concealed the extent of Crawford’s control. He threw considerably more punches, landed 58 more and dictated where almost every exchange took place. His advantage was especially apparent in power punching, where he connected with 107 of 216 attempts.

The decision advanced Crawford’s record to 29 victories without defeat and established him as the leading super-lightweight of the period. Postol suffered his first professional loss after finding that the jab and measured pressure which had defeated Matthysse were ineffective against a boxer who could change stance, direction and distance without surrendering his balance. The match had been expected to provide a close comparison between two unbeaten champions. Instead, it demonstrated a clear difference in adaptability. Postol continued trying to win the contest he had prepared for; Crawford altered the contest until it suited him completely.