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Terence Crawford’s trainer wants future bouts against Manny Pacquiao, PBC welterweight champions

Terence Crawford
Terence Crawford
(Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
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As much as Terence Crawford works to limit his comments to his upcoming bout — Saturday’s two-belt junior-welterweight title defense against Covina’s John Molina — his encouraging future schedule remains the most interesting thing about him.

The unbeaten World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council champion from Omaha returns to his hometown CenturyLink Center for an HBO-televised bout against a strong-willed challenger coming off a surprising victory over Ruslan Provodnikov.

The HBO broadcast, starting at 6:35 p.m. PST, also includes the same-day telecast of the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title fight from New Zealand between Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz, plus a co-main-event lightweight bout from Nebraska between Hollywood-trained Ray Beltran and Mason Menard.

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“I’m ready to go out and do what I do best: put on a good show for everybody,” Crawford said. “Everybody’s a challenge. There’s a lot at stake for me.”

That was the extent of how far Crawford would discuss a future that his trainer, Brian McIntyre, says includes a bid to unify the 140-pound division or a fight Manny Pacquiao next should Floyd Mayweather Jr. remain retired.

“We keep hearing about a future fight with Manny Pacquiao, but there doesn’t seem to be much interest from his team, especially since [Pacquiao trainer] Freddie Roach got a good look at Terence from [former unbeaten WBC champion Viktor] Postal’s corner [in July],” McIntyre said.

“What they need to do — [Pacquiao advisor] Koncz, Roach and Manny — is to hold hands and pray and ask for divine intervention directing them to a fight with Terence.

“Oscar [De La Hoya] was man enough to accept Manny’s challenge. It’s part of the cycle of life in boxing: Handing off the torch to the successor. Manny should be man enough to do the same thing. There is no excuse. Manny and Freddie say Manny walks around at 140. Both are world champions. Both are top-10 pound-for-pound fighters. It’s a natural. But it takes two to make a fight. Terence only lacks the opportunity to take over the spot that Manny and Floyd Mayweather used to hold as the pound-for-pound star of the sport.”

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Crawford declined to get into the subject of his future beyond Saturday, cracking, “I don’t have a New Year’s resolution because we’re still in 2016.”

McIntyre said that although Molina is “a tough cookie who throws his overhand right just right … he’s pretty much tailor-made for Terence.”

The compelling thing about Crawford fighting Molina (29-6, 23 KOs) is that the challenger belongs to manager Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions, which counts welterweight champions Danny Garcia and Keith Thurman in its stable.

“Terence wants to beat all those guys, to show he’s not too small,” McIntyre said. “I would love Pacquiao. I would love Mayweather to come back. We’d beat the … out of him.

“All those [PBC welterweights] are damn good, but we haven’t seen the best of Terence Crawford yet. At 147, you’ll see it. Once the competition elevates, he elevates over the top of that.

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“As long as,” Crawford promoter Bob Arum and longtime adversary Haymon “stay cool and it goes as planned, we should be all right.”

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimespugmire

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