Crawford vs Postol: Fight and undercard officially announced for July 23 on HBO PPV

The July 23 junior welterweight title unification bout between Terence "Bud" Crawford and Viktor Postol, holders of the WBO and WBC 140-pound belts, was made official this afternoon at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California. The fight will headline an HBO pay-per-view event from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"HBO pay-per-view is very pleased to present in his first pay-per-view show, Terence Crawford, who we think is emerging as one of boxing's brightest and best fighters, he's a star in the making," Tony Walker of HBO pay-per-view said. He added, "Competition is what drives pay-per-view, and we have competition in droves on July 23rd."

Walker also said that suggested retail price for the show is $49.95, which likely means that the HD broadcast will be $59.95, since generally they give the lower (standard definition) price and don't mention the HD price.

"Not only are they two champions, they're both undefeated, and without any question, they are the two best 140-pounders around today," promoter Bob Arum said. "That's why I'm so excited about this fight. When the best fight the best, and it's clearly, in this division, the best fighting the best, the public will respond. I know they'll respond to this card."

Postol's trainer Freddie Roach echoed those statements. "This is exactly what boxing needs, the best fighting the best. I think this is a great fight. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We're going to have a long, hard training camp. I'd like to wish Terence Crawford the best of luck, and the best man will win."

Brian McIntyre, Crawford's trainer, said, "It's gonna be a good fight. I commend Viktor for wanting to step up and make the best fight. I know he's a good fighter, I know Freddie's a good trainer. But we will show them that we are the best in the game."

"Last year, I fulfilled my ambition to become WBC champion. I am sure that I will unify the WBC and WBO belts on the 23rd of July," said Postol (28-0, 12 KO). "I will do my best with the help of my team. It will be a difficult fight. I wish you all good luck. May the best man win."

"I'd like to thank Team Postol for calling me out, making this a reality. July 23rd is going to be a great night of boxing," Crawford (28-0, 20 KO) said. "You've got the one versus two, unification fight. On paper, everybody says it's a 50-50 fight. But in my eyes, I'm looking at going in there and destroying this man right here.

"I know I don't say too much to the public, because I'm always focused on the task at hand, when I say this is different for me, this is different for me. I'm looking forward to putting on a great performance in my first pay-per-view, and I'm looking forward to many more to come. After July 23rd, my record will be 29-0 with 21 knockouts."

Arum also announced some undercard fights for the show. Gilberto Ramirez (34-0, 24 KO) will defend the WBO super middleweight title against Germany's Dominik Britsch (32-2-1, 11 KO); featherweight prospect Oscar Valdez (19-0, 17 KO) will take on Argentina's Matis Rueda (26-0, 23 KO); and welterweight Jose Benavidez Jr (24-0, 16 KO) will face Francisco Santana (24-4-1, 12 KO).

On the preliminary undercard, likely streaming at Top Rank TV, Leonardo "Lenny Z" Zappavigna (34-2, 24 KO) will face IK Yang (19-1, 14 KO) in a junior welterweight bout, and middleweight Ryota Murata (9-0, 6 KO) will take on George Tahdooahnippah (34-2-3, 24 KO).