It's been just over eight months since Terence Crawford last defended his belts against John Molina Jr. in Omaha. Now, Crawford is ready to make history in Lincoln.
Crawford will fight Julius Indongo to create the first unified champion at any weight class since Jermain Taylor held the WBO, WBC, WBA and IBF belts at 160-pounds 12 years ago.
"A lot of people don't believe good talent comes from Omaha, Nebraska," Crawford said. "I've been proving them wrong ever since I came on the scene of boxing, from amateurs to pro. To win all of these titles in one night is going to mean everything."
Plenty of Crawford fans will flood Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday to watch their home-state champ try to make history, and the Nebraska-native knows that.
"If you watch Nebraska football play and you see how our state turns out each and every home game, you'll see how big it is," Crawford said. "That's what I want for me and my fights. I want it to be as big as that."
When asked where he feels he would rank among the best boxers in the world if he were to win Saturday, Crawford had a very simple answer.
"Number one," Crawford said. "Number one. It's nothing else to be discussed about. It's number one."
The telecast for the Crawford vs. Indongo fight will begin on ESPN at 9 p.m. Saturday.