Crawford On Zepeda-Navarrete: 'Bloodbath Waiting To Happen'

Terence Crawford believes a matchup between newly crowned WBC lightweight champion William Zepeda and unified junior lightweight titleholder Emanuel Navarrete would produce fireworks.

Zepeda overwhelmed Lamont Roach with relentless pressure last weekend, landing 218 punches to Roach's 153 while throwing nearly 300 more shots overall, according to CompuBox. The Mexican southpaw claimed the vacant WBC strap by unanimous decision, and Crawford — who held a lightweight belt in 2014 — was impressed by what he saw from ringside.

Crawford Weighs In On Zepeda's Future Opponents

Speaking on DAZN and TNT's post-fight show, Crawford praised Zepeda's footwork, angles, and counterpunching ability. "I was looking for the straight, come-forward type fighter," Crawford said, per The Ring. "His footwork, distance, range, angles, feints, jabs, counterpunching ability, punch placement and how he was controlling the fight [was impressive]."

When talk turned to potential opponents for Zepeda, WBO champion Abdullah Mason and Navarrete emerged as the most intriguing options. Navarrete holds the IBF and WBO titles at 130 pounds but has campaigned at lightweight before, dropping a split decision to Denys Berinchyk last May. The 31-year-old destroyed Eduardo Nunez in February to unify two junior lightweight belts and reportedly is pursuing a unification with WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster.

Crawford warned that pitting two Mexican volume punchers against each other would be brutal. "Man, that's CTE at its finest. It's a bloodbath waiting [to happen]," he said, as reported by The Ring.

Zepeda is now 34-1 with 27 knockouts. Mason was ringside for the Roach fight, setting up a potential showdown between the two lightweight titleholders.

Source: ringmagazine.com