Photo courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions

Lots of chatter out and about the week following WBO junior welterweight beltholder Terence Crawford’s violently successful NYC debut, as he wiped the sneer off Hank Lundy’s face and re-served notice that he’s among the Top 10 pugilists, pound-for-pound, on this planet.

Who next?

Who can challenge “Bud,” take him into deeper waters, make his lungs burn and have him ask harder questions of himself, apart from, “Who’s next?”

After the win, as the Madison Square Garden Theater cleared out and the adrenaline from the fresh victory had his blood pumping double time, I asked that question of Crawford trainer/consigliere Brian McIntyre.

Who’s next?

“(WBC junior welterweight titlist) Viktor Postol can get this,” he told me.

We’ve been hearing that the “Siberian Rocky,” whose specialty indeed is dragging guys into the deep water and throwing them a lead-laced life preserver, could get the gig.

What about it; could Ruslan Provodnikov get the assignment? Is he the top choice for Team Crawford?

“Yep,” McIntyre told me, “as long as the money is right!”

If the dollars make sense, sounds like we could be seeing Bud’s ambidextrous assaultive-ness thrown at the Russian, who has lost four times, but has never been stopped.

Your thoughts, my friends? Leave a comment if you like.

After Terence Crawford’s win, as the Madison Square Garden Theater cleared out and the adrenaline from the fresh victory had his blood pumping double time, Michael Woods removed his suit jacket, threw it into the vacant ring and promptly elbow-smashed it. There’s a little bit of Ric Flair in all of us.

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