The WBO announced that world 140-pound champion the former 2-weight world champion Terence Crawford who recently said that he will now campaign for his third world title in the 147-pound division, he will now become the organisation’s mandatory contender for welterweight titleholder Jeff Horn of Australia who won the title in Brisbane from the legendary Manny Pacquiao in July.
Horn will be permitted one optional defence by the WBO, but then must fight Crawford immediately, with the fight to be arranged within 90 days after Horn’s optional defence. Horn will make his optional defence against Briton Gary Cocoran in December at Brisbane’s Convention Center.
The Omaha native became boxing’s undisputed 140-pound champion in his last fight after knocking out Namibia’s Julius Indongo (22-1) in the third round August 19 in front of his home crowd in Nebraska. Crawford defended his WBC and WBO titles and won the IBF, IBO and WBA championships from Indongo to become the first man since Jermain Taylor triumphed over Bernard Hopkins in 2005 to hold the undisputed title by knocking out Indongo with a brutal body shot in the third round.
Now that Andre Ward and Floyd Mayweather have recently confirmed retirement from professional boxing, Crawford is considered by many credible sources within boxing to be the premiere standout fighter in world boxing and will look to solidify that claim by capturing his third world title at welterweight.