Crawford says Bradley deserves Pacquiao fight

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao may have picked Timothy Bradley instead of him, but everything’s fine for Terence Crawford.

Crawford, the current WBO super lightweight champion and one of boxing’s rising stars, will instead fight another opponent in Hank Lundy on February 27.

He has no problem with Bradley – whom he considers as a close friend – getting a rubber match with Pacquiao.

"I’m happy Tim got it," Crawford said in a report by Keith Idec of NorthJersey.com.

Crawford, Bradley and Amir Khan were the other choices for Pacquiao’s final fight on April 9 in Las Vegas. Bradley eventually won the sweepstakes, with Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz saying Pacquiao-Bradley 3 would bring the best financial package for the Filipino icon.

The 28-year-old Crawford may have missed a career-high payday in taking on Pacquiao, but he said Bradley deserves another crack at the superstar.

"Tim deserves it. Tim is one of those fighters who’s been putting his life on the line his whole career, beat a lot of good fighters and did a lot of great things in boxing, and never got the credit he deserves. Never," he continued.

After talks between Pacquiao and Khan’s camp fell through, the field had been narrowed down to Bradley and Crawford, both of whom fight under Top Rank.

But Crawford insisted they haven’t been approached for the fight, hinting the risk he poses to the older Pacquiao.

"That was a red flag right there," said Crawford, who is undefeated in 27 bouts, with 19 knockouts.

 "So it was like, ‘All right, let’s focus on something else.’ If they [Pacquiao camp] call, then we’re already training,” he added.