Burns vs Crawford pushed back from February date, now likely for March 1

According to a report from Terence Dooley at BoxingScene.com that cites reasons beyond either fighter's control, the agreed-upon fight between WBO lightweight titlist Ricky Burns and mandatory challenger Terence Crawford has been postponed from its original February 8 date. The new date is likely to be March 1, a week before Burns' mandatory is due.

Burns (36-2-1, 11 KO) was involved in controversy in his last bout, when he defended against Raymundo Beltran and came away with a draw in a fight most observers felt Beltran clearly won. Burns also suffered a broken jaw in that fight, and there was some talk immediately after that his boxing career may be over, but that appears to be of no real concern at this point.

Crawford (22-0, 16 KO) began making a name for himself as a contender this year thanks to a three-fight win streak on HBO. He's yet to face someone as good as Burns, and we've certainly seen our share of American hype jobs derailed in the last decade or so, but Crawford does appear the real deal as a potential top lightweight, with good skills that seem to match up nicely with what Burns brings to the table.