Postol Looking to Unify 140-Pound Titles with Win over Crawford

It wasn’t too long ago when only the hardest of the hardcore boxing fans and media knew the name Viktor Postol. Most considered him another in a long line of European tough guys with some skill and not much else. But as he slowly climbed the ranks, the Ukrainian began proving otherwise.

And when Postol knocked out Lucas Matthysse last October, suddenly he became a hot commodity in the boxing world. But when asked about how he proved so many within the sport -- at least in America -- wrong, he shrugged his shoulders like it was nothing.

“I knew going into the fight with (Matthysse) that I was going to win,” Postol told Sherdog.com in a recent interview. “I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy fight at all but I knew what I needed to do. I wasn’t aware that I was such a big underdog because I don’t pay attention to that stuff; all I do is fight and believe in myself.”

The win sent shockwaves throughout the boxing world as not many so-called experts picked Matthysse to lose, especially via knockout. Postol was brilliant that night in California but when he reflects on that night, he said everything came together because of a perfect training camp and its ensuing fight night strategy.

“That was a great fight for me and that was an example of our training,” he stated. “We designed the entire camp around what Matthysse does well and not so well when he fights. Lucas tends to throw very hard, looping punches and we worked on defending them and timing his attacks. You saw the results of our strategy for that fight but with Crawford, it’s an entirely different opponent so our camp has changed quite a bit.”

The win over Matthysse, which came via 10th-round TKO, allowed “The Iceman” to scoop up the vacant WBC junior welterweight title. And with such a big win, the natural progression in the sport is to continue an upward arc and hopefully land big-money fights against fellow elite-level combatants. It took quite a few months for it to materialize but the first mega fight of his career looms only a day away.

Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) will put his unbeaten record and 140-pound title on the line against Terence Crawford, another unbeaten superstar in the making in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View (9 p.m. ET) telecast from within the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It’s a perfect blend of styles and it’s a pivotal matchup for both men as so much is on the line, but Postol is confident he’ll have his hand raised at the conclusion of the first super battle of the summer.

“He is a very good fighter,” he said of Crawford, who owns the WBO version of the junior welterweight crown. “He’s very explosive and technical and he’s proven to be one of the best (young) fighters in the sport. This should be a great fight. Crawford, I think, could be one of the best in the world but his time will have to wait until after I fight him. I have a great gameplan on how to fight him and I think all of our work in the gym will speak for itself when we fight on Saturday.”

Postol wouldn’t reveal anything pertaining to his gameplan but said that his training was far different for this fight compared to any of his previous battles. Though Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) is a betting favorite going in, it’s not a landslide in the sportsbooks. After so many years of toiling in obscurity, Postol is now a major player in the sport. It’s up to him to take that next step to becoming a pound-for-pound great like Crawford and beating him begins only a day away.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Enter for the opportunity to win a signed glove by Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol, courtesy of our friends at HBO Boxing. Crawford vs. Postol happens Saturday, July 23 on HBO pay-per-view.

Estimated value of the signed glove is $200 U.S. This contest is open to residents of U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) 18 years and over. View the contest’s official rules here.