Respected boxing historian and analyst Steve Farhood believes change is coming in boxing with the rise of the young contenders particularly Terence Crawford, who is rumoured to be among the potential opponent for Manny Pacquiao next year.

Farhood contends that with Pacquiao, who is already 36 years old, advancing in age already, Crawford has a legit shot of winning against the Filipino boxer.

“It’s pretty clear that Manny is probably the harder puncher, but at this point with Manny’s age and Crawford peaking, it seems like a passing of the torch type of fight and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Crawford won,” Farhood in an interview with Jenna J of ontheropesboxing.com.

Farhood added that the weight would play an important factor in deciding the winner of the potential Crawford-Pacquiao fight.

“The first question is, what weight is the fight made at? Manny has been fighting as a welterweight and Terence Crawford is a 140lb fighter. Do you do a catch weight? Does Manny come down?” Farhood, who was a former editor-in-chief of the respected The Ring Magazine and also an official of the Boxing Writers Association of America, said in the same article.

“One of the things that shocked me when Mayweather fought Pacquiao was how small Pacquiao was, Mayweather towered over him. If Manny Pacquiao is a welterweight, then I’m a flyweight, he’s small. Maybe he can get to 140lbs, but that would be my first question, what weight would the fight be fought at?”

Crawford currently campaigns in the super lightweight division, or the 140-pound limit while Pacquiao is a welterweight, or the 147-pound division. Pacquiao has won titles in the super lightweight division in the past while Crawford is currently the World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion in the division.

Pacquiao has yet to name his next opponent, most probably in April 2016. The Filipino is running for a senator in the Philippine elections in May and there are reports that his next fight would be the last of his career.

Along with Crawford, other top contenders being considered for Pacquiao’s next fight are Amir Khan, Kell Brook and Danny Garcia, among others. Pacquiao also stated in a recent interview that he’s open to a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, who recently announced his retirement from the sport.

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