When he fought the best at 135 in Gamboa, he got hurt a few times in that fight. Granted, he knocked him down and ultimately TKO'd him, he still struggled. What happens when he faces an equally good opponent.
He is building himself up and racking up CREDIBLE wins from solid opponents. Crawford and his team are smart and they are putting him in great fights. He will be limited in his selections at Top Rank unless they continue to do business with Haymon. He will probably fight a couple more time then move up to 147 and fight: Bradley Manny(maybe) Rios Chaves after that ????
Mauricio Herrera, Brook, Sadam Ali (rematch since Ali beat him in amateurs already), etc... Basically I think Top Rank is now willing to work with GB, Hearns....or just anyone who isn't haymon.
Crawford doesn't need to go to welter right now, there are plenty of fights for him at JW. He is a star on the rise and he needs to fight the best. I think that Arum will do business with any promoter or manager if the money is there. His stars are going to demand the best fights and it's incumbent upon him to deliver or risk losing them like he lost Mayweather and Oscar. He's 5'8", Peterson and Garcia are both 5'9" Marquez is 5'7" and Lucas and Provodnikov are both 5'6" so he is right in the middle. He should stay there and and if he can dominate then move up. I think that the welters is about to get large again with the average ht being 5'9" and the fight night weight will be around 160.
Definitely too small to even think about Welterweight at the moment. You need to have atleast a ring weight of 155+ (unless you're super talented like Floyd & Pacquiao) Most of 147 weigh 157-160 on fight night. Crawford is hitting 150 on fight night at the moment...can visibly see his frame is too small. 140 has opened up nicely for Crawford to spend the next 2-3 years there. Shouldn't jump the gun and fight someone like Lucas yet though.
