Crawford soon to be world famous: trainer

Terence Crawford's trainer has predicted his charge is bound to become an international superstar once he beats Jeff Horn in their Las Vegas showdown.

Terence Crawford.

Terence Crawford is set for global superstardom once he beats Jeff Horn, according to his trainer. (AAP)

Terence Crawford might not be well known outside of US boxing circles just yet, but a win over Jeff Horn will put him on course for global superstardom.

That's the view of his trainer, Brian McIntyre, who reckons his charge is bound for Floyd Mayweather levels of fame.

Two of the most powerful organisations in US sport - ESPN and Top Rank - are banking on Crawford to beat Horn on Saturday, claim the WBO welterweight championship and become one of the faces of boxing in America.

Mayweather has previously anointed Crawford as his successor, rating him as the world's top pound-for-pound fighter and saying he reminded him of himself when he was younger - but the 30-year-old from Nebraska has a long way to go to match his public profile.

Crawford's fanbase isn't anywhere near where it should be considering what he has achieved, having won titles in two weight classes and unified the four major junior welterweight belts last year.

He received only a muted response from the small crowd assembled at MGM Grand for his open workout. Horn, surprisingly, had arguably more support for his.

Horn's promoter Dean Lonergan has repeatedly put that on McIntyre, blaming his poor management decisions for Crawford's lack of crossover appeal and describing him as "worst-managed, worst-advised fighter in the history of boxing."

But according to McIntyre, it's only a matter of time until Crawford's name is everywhere.

"It's already started since just getting on the scene and he's been climbing since then," said McIntyre.

"I see it getting much bigger after this and with the push of ESPN and Top Rank, it's going to get much bigger.

"But first we have to get past Jeff Horn.

"He's a determined fighter and has the will to win."

Crawford started boxing at just seven and, about five years later, McIntyre said he could see something special in him.

"When he was about 12 or 13, he never lost after that," he said.

"He was going up against guys that were No.1 and 2 in the country and he had only had about 10 or 11 fights. And he was beating them. And I was like 'wow, this kid is bad'."


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world