This weekend is stacked with action, and while Crawford vs Lundy isn’t one of the most evenly matched bouts on the horizon, it’s worth your attention. Mainly because Terence Crawford is one of today’s finest technicians, and partly because, despite being overmatched on paper, Hank Lundy has a decent base and strong enough engine to possibly make this memorable.
Crawford, who will be putting his WBO Junior Welterweight crown and unblemished record on the line, has amassed 27 victories with 19 ending inside the distance. Lundy, a limited but crowd-pleasing contender, has plenty of experience against top opposition but carries a more colorful record of 26 wins, 13 knockouts, 5 defeats and 1 draw.
Chances are you know a great deal about this Amateur standout Crawford and his quick rise through the pro ranks, so I’ll make this quick. Crawford bettered Ricky Burns in 2014 to capture the WBO Lightweight title, made three one-sided defenses which included a thriller against Yuriorkis Gamboa, and then captured the vacant WBO 140 pound variety in 2015, recently defending it against Dierry Jean.
Lundy has a few decent wins on his resume, including decisions over Richar Abril, Dannie Williams and Ajose Olusegun, but has come up short whenever facing a serious threat (discussed further below). Lundy was stopped in 11 by slugger John Molina Jr in 2010 and outpointed by current WBC champ Viktor Postol in 2013. Lundy also lost a disappointing Technical Decision last year following a gory head butt clash with Mauricio Herrera. Since the affair lasted under 5 rounds, however, I consider it to be entirely inconclusive outing.
On paper, besides the obvious numbers favoring Crawford’s perfect record, there is one fact that immediately jumps out: Crawford has handily defeated every fighter who has conquered Lundy. Lundy held his own with Thomas Dulorme and Raymundo Beltran, but fell on the wrong side of close decisions to both. When Crawford faced these guys, he took care of business in style and with relative ease, soundly out-boxing Beltran and knocking out Dulorme in just 6 rounds.
Crawford, who ideally should be facing joint-division-kingpin Viktor Postol, is levels above Lundy. Nobody underestimates Lundy’s heart and determination, but I’ve a feeling Lundy is going to be out of his depth in this one. Lundy stated in the buildup that he’s also a switch-hitter like Crawford, but that won’t be enough to bring the upset in my opinion. If Lundy’s on his game, maybe he can make it to the championship rounds, but I see Crawford pressuring early, catching his man, and putting in a short night’s work. That’s my pick for Crawford vs Lundy.
Boxing Base Prediction: Crawford via 6th round KO/TKO
Crawford vs Lundy: Tale of the Tape
Note: Advantageous stats are indicated in red (some may be subjective), and championship stats refer to ‘fully fledged world titles’ only.
(Terence Crawford vs Hank Lundy)
Physical/Vital
Birthplace
Omaha, Nebraska … Philadelphia, Penn.
Age
28 … 32
Height
5′ 8″ … 5′ 7″
Reach
70″ … 68″
Stance
Switch-Hitter … Orthodox
Record (Pro)
Debut
2008 … 2006
Bouts
27 … 32
Wins
27 … 26
Defeats
0 … 5
Draws
0 … 1
No Contests
0 … 0
Knockout Ratio
70% (19) … 41% (13)
1st Round Knockouts
6 … 4
2nd Round Knockouts
4 … 3
3rd Round Knockouts
1 … 0
4th – 6th Round Knockouts
5 … 5
Defeats by Knockout
0 … 1
Knockdowns Suffered
0 … 6
Rounds Boxed
130 … 189
12-Rounders Completed
2 … 1
Current Winning Streak
27 … 1
Undefeated Fighters Defeated
3 … 3
Latest Win
Dierry Jean (TKO 10) … Carlos Winston Velasquez (TKO 5)
World Title Bout Experience
Wins
5 … NA
Defeats
0 … NA
Draws
0 … NA
No Contests
0 … NA
Successful Defenses
3 … NA
Longest Championship Reign
03/2014 – 02/2016 … NA
Major Titles Won
WBO (135, 140 lbs) … 0
Major Titles Currently Held
WBO (140 lbs) … 0
Boxing Base World Ranking
No.2 … Unranked
Notable Performances
CRAWFORD: Dierry Jean (TKO 10), Thomas Dulorme (TKO 6), Raymundo Beltran (UD 12), Yuriorkis Gamboa (TKO 9), Ricky Burns (UD 12), Andrey Klimov (UD 10), Alejandro Sanabria (TKO 6), Breidis Prescott (UD 10)
LUNDY: Thomas Dulorme (LOSS: SD 10), Ajose Olusegan (UD 10), Viktor Postol (LOSS: UD 12), Raymundo Beltran (LOSS: MD 10), Dannie Williams (UD 10), David Diaz (KO 6), Patrick Lopez (UD 10), John Molina Jr (LOSS: TKO 11), Tyrese Hendrix (UD 10), Richar Abril (SD 10)
Common Opponents
(TKO 6) … Thomas Dulorme … (LOSS: SD 10)
(UD 12) … Raymundo Beltran … (LOSS: MD 10)
What’s your take on Boxing Base’s prediction and Tale of the Tape? How do you see the action playing out?
Crawford vs Lundy will headline a Top Rank card on Saturday, February 27th, broadcast on HBO and Boxnation. We’ll have Live Results right here on Boxing Base, plus Live Round by Round Updates over on Twitter (@BoxingBase).
