Check out the Bloody Elbow staff’s picks and predictions for Saturday’s Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan fight.
The Bloody Elbow staff has made its predictions for Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan, and unbelievably, everyone is going for Crawford to successfully defend his WBO welterweight belt on Saturday night. No one could’ve seen this coming! It’s almost as if he’s a huge favorite against a credible opponent whose weaknesses are basically the worst possible combination to have against someone like “Bud.” Oh well, this fight will be fun and violent and it’ll get you through the evening before you watch RIZIN, right?
Terence Crawford vs. Amir Khan
Mookie Alexander: Amir Khan is a good boxer who’s been subject to ridicule because he says a lot of delusional things and he turns into a cartoon character whenever he gets hurt. His resume is quite good when you look at his best wins. I’d contend beating Marcos Maidana in 2010 is better than all of Crawford’s best wins to date. The lack of great names on Crawford’s resume isn’t really Terence’s fault, but there’s no denying his talent, and also that this is 2019 and Khan is absolutely not in his prime. His hand speed is still there, and his boxing skill could conceivably make things interesting for a couple of rounds… then Bud will figure out Amir’s tendencies within by round four and unleash hell. Khan won’t be able to solve all of Crawford’s footwork, timing, counterpunching, and absolutely not a chance in hell is he withstanding the power. Amir just reacts poorly to getting hit too often and Crawford is among the best finishers in all of boxing. This will be entertaining — Amir Khan fights rarely fail to excite — bad news is Khan’s brain is going to get scrambled. Terence Crawford by TKO, round 8.
Fraser Coffeen: It’s very satisfying to see Mookie’s displeasure with Crawford’s opposition, as I’ve been banging that drum for a long time. That said, he’s definitely a very good fighter, and this match-up stylistically favors him to a huge degree. Crawford doesn’t tend to start super fast, and Khan has a lot of skill, so I like Khan in the first 2 rounds or so. But then Crawford will pick up the pace, he’ll start landing, Khan will respond poorly, and ultimately, Crawford will pour it on and violently end things. Terence Crawford, KO, R5
Tim Burke: Watching Amir Khan get knocked out is always fun. Terence Crawford, KO, round 6
Stephie Haynes: The best part of this weekend’s combat sports will be watching Bud snatch the soul out of Khan. Violently. Terence Crawford, (T)KO, round 4
Staff picking Crawford: Mookie, Fraser, Tim, Stephie
Staff picking Khan:
Staff picking draw: