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Terence Crawford makes bid for Manny Pacquiao fight with dominant TKO win

Terence "Bud" Crawford lands a left on Dierry Jean on Saturday en route to a 10th-round stoppage in their WBO super lightweight title fight at the CenturyLink Center in Crawford's hometown of Omaha, Neb. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

If it is possible, Terence "Bud" Crawford may have looked too good in his 10th-round stoppage of Dierry Jean on Saturday in Omaha, Neb., in what was billed, at least in part, as an audition for a potential spring bout with Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao has been one of the great fighters in the world for more than a decade, and is at least considering retirement after a planned April 9 bout.

Crawford is on the short list of potential opponents for that bout, but may have been too fast, too powerful and just too good to get the call. The 2014 Fighter of the Year fought out of a southpaw stance much of the night, but switched effortlessly throughout, and won going away.

Referee Tony Weeks stopped the bout after Crawford dumped an exhausted Jean with a combination near the ropes for the third knockdown of the fight. It was all Crawford, who knocked Jean down with a check hook near the end of the first round and hurt Jean, a one-time Pacquiao sparring partner, multiple times, including another knockdown in the ninth.

"I'm ready," Crawford said of the possibility of facing Pacquiao in an HBO Pay-Per-View bout on April 9. "Bob [Arum], make it happen."

Terence Crawford (L) drops Dierry Jean Saturday in their WBO super lightweight title fight in Omaha, Neb. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Terence Crawford (L) drops Dierry Jean Saturday in their WBO super lightweight title fight in Omaha, Neb. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

Promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo Sports two weeks ago that the fighters under consideration as Pacquiao's opponent for the April bout were Amir Khan, Crawford, Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez. The decision, though, would be Pacquiao's, not Arum's.

Arum said following the fight Saturday that Marquez is no longer under consideration. Crawford and Khan are, and Bradley will be if he defeats Brandon Rios on Nov. 7 in Las Vegas.

"It would be one hell of a fight," Arum said of a Pacquiao-Crawford match. "Now, we have to wait for Manny Pacquiao to look at the tape. We also have to wait for the results of Nov. 7 and then we'll regroup."

Jean, who was completely outclassed, had angered Crawford with bold pre-fight predictions. And he wasn't exactly gracious following the bout, the second loss of his career.

"Manny is faster, and hits harder," Jean said.

Perhaps. But one has to wonder, coming off a loss to Floyd Mayweather and at the advanced age for a boxer of 37, whether Pacquiao will want to accept the problems that a fast, powerful and versatile opponent like Crawford would present.

Crawford, who overcame a rough childhood to become the WBO super lightweight champion and a hugely popular figure in his native Omaha, said he's fueled by his upbringing in a rough section of his hometown.

"I used to fight [on the streets] all the time," Crawford said. "Anybody that's here today can tell you where I've come from," Crawford said. "I started on the bottom, in the streets fighting, getting shot, working my way up in the rankings. And I'm here now."

He's now 27-0 and clearly one of the finest fighters in the world. Pacquiao would give him a big name to prove his talent against, but at his age and with just three wins in his last six fights, Pacquiao may want no part of an offensive fighter the caliber of Crawford who is also well above average defensively.

Regardless of whether he gets the Pacquiao match, big things clearly are ahead for Crawford.

Terence Crawford walks to a neutral corner as referee Tony Weeks counts over the fallen Dierry Jean. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Terence Crawford walks to a neutral corner as referee Tony Weeks counts over the fallen Dierry Jean. (Mikey Williams/Top Rank)