Crawford And Lundy To Battle In New York

No one needed to ask, "Where’s the beef?" at Tuesday’s press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York, where undefeated WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford and his opponent, Hank Lundy announced their world title battle. Each fighter had his own beef and they weren’t afraid to serve it up.

Below is they had to say about their February 27 clash at Madison Square Garden.

TERENCE CRAWFORD (27-0, 19 KOs), of Omaha, Neb.

"I’ve always wanted to fight in New York -- at The Garden -- even as a small boy. Fighting in New York tells me where my career is really at and where we are going. I can get a big fan base here. It’s very exciting

"Lundy runs his mouth too much. He’s about to get hurt real bad. But Lundy can fight. He will battle.

"I don’t know what’s wrong with this dude. He better be for real about it. [Mauricio] Herrera? Lundy lost. Doesn’t matter what people think. He lost.

"I used to watch a lot of old fights until I got older then I wanted to develop my own style, like, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones, Marco Antonio Barrera.

"I wouldn’t be in this sport if I didn’t think I was the best. If you don’t think lthat you are the best then you are in the wrong sport. I feel like I am one of the guys that will put boxing on my back and carry the sport. I want to do that.

"Best thing about boxing? I get to hit people in the mouth. And I get paid to do it. Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to fight -- so why not get paid for it?

"All my kids watch me fight. They see me on HBO and say, "Dad, that’s you - you won that round.

"If I won Powerball would I would still fight? Boxing is my life. You bet I would."

HANK LUNDY (26-5-1, 13 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA.,

"I am going to break you down, Crawford. This is East Coast fighting, you homie. I’ve been a better, tougher fighter since I reunited with my first trainer, the great Charles Ramey.

"I will be the big ticket seller in this fight not Crawford. We will have fans coming to see me, not Crawford -- from Philadelphia, Boston and Providence. I ’ve always fought on the road. I have fans everywhere.

This is Madison Square Garden. They want to fill the place they know who to get -- Hank Lundy. I’m not the ’B’ side I’m the ’A’ side

Herrera? I was getting ready to knock him out and Golden Boy knew it. I told them I would fight him again, no purse bid. Nothing.

"I’m Hank Lundy. At the end of the day. I’m one of these fighters that can fight anyone. I fought a whole fight with a damn broken jaw. I put the guy down and he kept coming. But I had a broken jaw. The next day I woke up and it looked like I had grapefruit on the side of my face.

"I’ve got five kids. When I was 18 I was taking them to the gym with me, one on my arm and one in the stroller. Nothing stopped me. They’ve been with me my whole career. They know what it takes to work hard.

"You already know what’s going down. It’s my time. Crawford’s going to be going down early and often. I’ve been in there with the best. Nobody flat out beat my ass and nobody will. That’s why I keep getting these fights. That’s Philly fighting --.Broad Street Bullies.

"I’ve known Crawford since the amateurs. He’s a tough guy. If he’s the best I’m about to show you something. It’s about to be Hank Lundy night at Madison Square Garden.

"This guy is scared to fight me. I’ve been moving all over to try to get him.

I’ve got him now. If I’m under his skin now wait till fight time. One thing about it, I back it up. If you want to talk stuff you’ve got to back it up. You’ve got to have tough skin in this game.

"My kids said, "Dad you’re going to fight Crawford. You’ve been waiting for that."

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January 12, 2016