Terence Crawford to return on Oct. 24

Aug

Photo credit: Chris Farina/Top Rank Promotions

After weeks filled with rumors about opponents and dates, Terence Crawford has secured an opponent for this fall.

The unbeaten junior welterweight will defend his WBO title on Oct. 24 against Dierry Jean at the CenturyLink Center in his hometown of Omaha, Neb.

A press conference will be held today (2 p.m. ET/ 11 p.m. PT) to formally announce the fight. The press conference will be streamed on Top Rank Promotions’ streaming website.

After capturing championship gold as a lightweight, Crawford (26-0, 18 knockouts) moved up in weight and won the vacant WBO title on April 18, when he stopped Thomas Dulorme in the sixth round in Arlington, Texas.

Crawford fought twice last year in Omaha, where he attracted sold-out crowds of over 11,000. The 27-year-old successfully defended his WBO lightweight title against Yuriorkis Gamboa and Ray Beltran, the latter win netting “Bud” the vacant RING championship.

Jean (29-1, 20 KOs) has won his last four bouts in a row since suffering his only defeat as a pro at the hands of Lamont Peterson in January of last year. In his last bout on June 20, Jean, who resides in Montreal, won a 10-round, unanimous decision over Jerry Belmontes.

Originally born in Haiti, Jean is managed by Camille Estephane.

HBO will televise the fight and will likely replay the Wladimir Klitschko-Tyson Fury fight, which will take place earlier in the day in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since Oct. of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.