Terence Crawford signs new deal with Top Rank

For anyone who may have been hoping to see Terence Crawford leave Top Rank and venture into, say, the PBC world and the land of the rest of the world’s elite welterweights, this is bad news.

Crawford has signed a new deal with Top Rank, according to ESPN, doing so before his old deal had expired, as the sides both wanted to get something done ahead of Crawford’s first welterweight title defense, slated for October 13 in Omaha.

No opponent has been named, and frankly not a whole lot is expected of an opponent at this stage, given that date is just over a month away, and furthermore, Top Rank doesn’t have any other top 147-pound fighters under contract, save for Manny Pacquiao, and ideas for a Pacquiao-Crawford fight seem to be on the back back burner at this point, if they still exist at all.

Most of the best welters in the world are with the PBC brand — Keith Thurman, Errol Spence Jr, Danny Garcia, and Shawn Porter, of course, but also name veterans like Adrien Broner, Andre Berto, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, and Victor Ortiz, as well as less-proven contenders like Jamal James and Yordenis Ugas.

With Top Rank, the company has Egis Kavaliauskas (20-0, 16 KO), who was in the mix to get the fight with Crawford before a so-so showing in a July win over Juan Carlos Abreu.

But Crawford, 30, is clearly happy with Top Rank, and he probably should be. They’ve gotten him good paydays and guided his career to world titles at 135, 140, and 147 pounds, and made him a genuine star in this new era of boxing, helping back up the skills that have made him one of the best in the world, pound-for-pound.

So hopefully the deal keeps working out, Top Rank manages to find quality enough opponents to keep Crawford interesting, and everyone will stay happy.