Terence Crawford will defend the WBO Lightweight title against Dierry Jean on October 24 in Crawford’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.
I’m excited to be able to bring these types of fights to Omaha. This is what Omaha, Nebraska, has been missing for decades,” Crawford told ESPN.com on Thursday. “I’m just happy to bring some excitement to the city instead of the people watching the news and hearing about all the negativity going on.”
“I just can’t wait. I want this. I’m hungry,” Jean said. “Crawford is the HBO darling who is supposed to be the next big thing, but I will hurt him. Mark my words. I will be crowned world champion on Oct. 24th.”
“His lone loss was in his first world title challenge, and he doesn’t want to miss his chance for a world title this time,” said Camille Estephan, Jean’s manager. “Dierry wants to fulfill his potential, and I believe he’s learned from his world title shot experience in January 2014. It’s great that we have a chance at redemption, and Oct. 24 will be his moment. This fight has the makings of a great battle for the fans.”
“I’m excited about the fight,” Crawford said. “A lot of people don’t know who he is but I know him. He’s a great, solid fighter. No walk in the park. I’m just ready. I watched [Peterson-Jean] live [on television]. I watched it as a fan, but there was always that possible chance of us fighting. On that particular day, I wasn’t looking at him like I’ll fight him one day but I knew that day may come.
“He put up a great fight against Peterson. He made it very exciting. He showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of skill, showed a lot of determination. You can’t take anything away from the guy. I will be totally prepared for whatever Dierry Jean brings to the ring.”
Said Cameron Dunkin, Crawford’s co-manager with Brian McIntyre, “This is a big fight for Terence. Dierry Jean is an excellent fighter and Terence knows it. Terence is very focused and is training harder than ever anticipating a very competitive fight. Believe me, Terence will be ready.”
“I was willing to fight the IBF champion [Cuenca] to unify our titles,” Crawford said. “You know me. I was willing to fight anybody. I got some names — Orozco, Soto — but they’re fighting each other. Herrera came up. [My managers] brought up Cuenca. I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to face him in a unification fight.’ But I let my managers do their job. Dierry Jean got the fight.
“I never predict a knockout. I only predict victory. As long as my hand is raised at the end of the fight, I’m happy with that.”
