Arum Reveals Details of Crawford vs. Postol PPV Undercard
By Jake Donovan
On the heels of significant progress made in finalizing terms for the upcoming World super lightweight championship between unbeaten titlists Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol, the staff at Top Rank has begun moving towards putting together the pieces of the undercard.
Top Rank brass confirmed details of the show on Monday, with the event to take place July 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. As was the case with the supporting bouts for the rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley earlier this month – at the same venue - a strong Hispanic presence can be expected to grace the preliminary portion of the evening.
“We have to have terrific Hispanic fighters on the show in order for it to be a success beyond the main event,” Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum explained to BoxingScene.com on Tuesday. “We will do a lot of marketing on Univision and ESPN Deportes. We wouldn’t get big coverage on those platforms without it.”
Already confirmed for the supporting cast is recently crowned super middleweight titlist Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (34-0, 24KOs). The unbeaten boxer from Mexico became the first-ever boxer from his nation to claim a super middleweight belt following his landslide victory over now former two-division champ Arthur Abraham in a bout that served as chief support to Pacquiao-Bradley III.
The 24-year old southpaw will make the first defense of his title, although his team is suddenly back on the grind for an opponent. He was on course to face Isaac Ekpo (28-2, 21KOs), a 33-year old fringe contender from Nigeria whose team has since reversed course in regards to the boxer’s availability for that evening.
Regardless, Ramirez figures to remain on the show against an opponent within the Top 15 of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) rankings while his team continues to beat the drums for an eventual superfight with unbeaten, unified middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin.
While not yet set, preliminary plans call for Oscar Valdez to once again appear on a show with Ramirez. A two-time Olympic participant for his native Mexico, the unbeaten featherweight is coming off of a spectacular 4th round stoppage of former titlist Evgeny Gradovich on the April 9 undercard and is now being groomed for a title fight.
That step won’t come on the July 23 undercard, but his hoped-for placement on the show would be another step in that direction.
“We’re talking to Frank Espinoza (Valdez’ longtime manager) about having him on the show,” Arum stated. “They’re talking to Oscar and his team about the fight. Whether or not it would be for the title, I can’t say that right now.
“But if he winds up on the card, it will be in a major fight against a quality opponent and undoubtedly fight for the featherweight title before we know it. He’s a terrific kid with an exciting style and a growing fan base.”
Also destined for the undercard, Ryota Murata (9-0, 6KOs) will return to the United States for the second time in his young career. The 2012 Olympic Gold medalist from Japan still has a fight on tap for May 14 in Hong Kong, China, but with an injury-free winning performance is expected to return to Las Vegas, where he made his stateside debut last November.
“He’s another young fighter in our stable for whom we have really big plans,” Arum said of the 30-year old boxer, whose Gold medal win came versus another Top Rank prospect, Brazil’s Esquiva Falcao. “We’re still trying to figure out if he will wind up on the PPV portion or if we will feature him on the Top Rank international feed (which streams live on TopRank.tv).”
A press conference to formally announce the event is due to take place May 10 in Los Angeles. The expectation is for significant portions of the undercard to be buttoned up, as well as the suggested retail price for those wishing to purchase the event.
“Todd (duBoef, president of Top Rank) is working on that with In Demand, Dish and DirecTV as we speak,” Arum stated. “It certainly won’t cost any more than $50, with our goal to hopefully offer it at least a little bit cheaper than that.”
