Dominique Crowder turned disappointment into opportunity.
After his fight Arturo Popoca – set for this weekend on the Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez vs. Phumelela Cafu junior bantamweight title unification card in Frisco, Texas – was canceled due to a Popoca injury, Crowder and his team had to scramble to find a new card on which to keep the unbeaten bantamweight contender busy.
Crowder, 18-0 (11 KOs), had spent six weeks in Puerto Rico, plus another three weeks in New York preparing for the fight, and it’d be a total waste if he didn’t fight at all.
Crowder lucked out when he and his team found a spot open on the July 25 card in Atlantic City that is being promoted by Boxing Insider Promotions. The card, which is headlined by the 10-round junior flyweight bout between Andy Dominguez Velasquez vs. Byron Rojas, will be broadcast live on DAZN from the Tropicana Hotel and Casino.
Crowder doesn’t yet have an opponent locked in, but the fight is expected to be a ten-rounder, says Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions, who had sponsored Crowder as an amateur.
“I had the big fight on DAZN for the 19th against Arturo [Popoca], that would have been for two titles, the WBA Continental and WBC Continental belts. I feel like the winner of that would have went on to fight for a world title next, maybe. It was very disappointing,” said the Baltimore native Crowder.
“I’m ready to get back active again. I’m a million percent ready for this opportunity. It’s not on Matchroom but it’s still being streamed by DAZN which is good for me, more publicity.”
Crowder, who is improbably tall for a 118lbs boxer at 5ft 10ins, last fought in November, knocking out former title challenger Duke Micah in one round, also on a Boxing Insider card.
The 31-year-old Crowder, who is rated No. 13 by the WBO, is managed by Adam Glenn and trained by Jose Luis Guzman and Mark Breland. He says he is ready for any style that he gets matched up with, even on short notice.
Crowder hopes victory in this fight gets the ball rolling on a title opportunity. He says the 118lbs belts have been mostly camping in Japan, where Junto Nakatani holds the WBC and IBF belts, and Yoshiki Takei holds the WBO title.
He says a fight with Takei would be easy to make because he’s rated in the top 15 with that organization, though he says a fight with WBA titleholder Antonio Vargas – the lone United States based champion at 118lbs – would also be appealing.
“I hope this next fight moves the needle for me and puts me in title contention. I’ve been in the rankings for a long time but it feels like I never get the opportunity and they just skip over me.
“If they give me a call, I’m going. I just need them to give me the go and I’m ready.”
There is slight irony in the Crowder fight landing on this card, given that the main event is the result of another fight falling out. A month ago, Dominguez was scheduled to fight Venezuelan journeyman Nelvis Rodriguez, only for that fight to be canceled the week of the fight due to Rodriguez’s inability to make the 108lbs weight limit.
The rest of the card includes heavyweight upstart Bruce Seldon Jnr, 6-0 (5 KOs), plus junior welterweight fan favorite Daiyaan Butt, 20-2 (10 KOs), both against opponents to be named.
