W Championship on Sunday for precautionary reason

Two years ago, Viktor Postol was just another unassuming fighter trying to work his way to the top. And now look at him.He is widely considered one of the top two junior welterweights in the world and is heading into the biggest fight of his career, a title unification bout against the other best fighter in the division, Terence Crawford, on Saturday night (HBO PPV, 9 ET) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.Postols growing reputation is based almost entirely on two big knockout wins -- but wins against quality opponents in fights that were televised on HBO and both were very impressive.First he drilled Selcuk Aydin, a longtime contender, in the 11th round in May 2014. That victory made him the mandatory challenger for then-world titleholder Danny Garcia, whose team put Postol off as long as it could. And then Garcia vacated the title and moved up in weight. That left Postol, who had stayed busy with a non-televised fight against a low-level opponent on a Garcia undercard, to fight for the vacant 140-pound belt.The mandatory opponent was Lucas Matthysse, a huge puncher and one of the most feared fighters in the division, although he had lost a competitive decision to Garcia in a 2013 title bout.Matthysse was the clear favorite to topple Postol and claim the title, but trainer Freddie Roach had Postol extremely well prepared and he fought masterfully when they met in October, winning by 10th-round knockout in a major upset.I was fighting for the title against one of the strongest punchers in the division, Postol said. The importance of this fight for my career and my life was not lost on me. It was all I thought about during training camp at Wild Card [Roachs gym in Hollywood, California]. Its all I ever wanted since I started boxing in a gym outside Kiev as a 12-year-old boy. I followed Freddies game plan from beginning to end. Even the last combination I landed -- right uppercut, left hook -- we worked on daily.Freddie Roach had me well prepared for that fight. My trainers made me a champion and helped me realize a dream I have had for a very long time. Every time I look at that green belt I will think of Freddie and everyone at Wild Card who helped me become a champion. I loved showing it off to all my friends, family members and fans in Ukraine. I am very proud to represent my country as a world champion.Following that victory, and with Garcia having left the weight class and Matthysse vanquished, Postol was clearly one of the best in the division, along with Crawford, the former lightweight champion from Omaha, Nebraska, who had moved up in weight and won a vacant 140-pound title 15 months ago.It was a very good performance, said Roach, who is going into his fourth bout as Postols trainer. We were in charge of the fight the whole time. Viktor followed the game plan perfectly. I remember before the last round I told our corner that Matthysse was very tired and ready to go out. He was coming in with his head leaning down. We told Viktor, Now is the time for a right uppercut and a left hook. Viktor took him out when he was ready to take him out. He is a good student of the game.Viktor deserved that victory. Ive never had a fighter work harder in training camp than he did. I was so happy for him when the fight was stopped. I just knew that a lot of doors would be opening for him now that he was a world champion and because of how he won that fight. This was, really, one of the greatest wins of my career. ... But I think Viktors performance on [Saturday] will surpass that. We have a solid game plan for Crawford. We are going right at him from the opening bell. This is a real 50-50 fight. The best man will win and the loser will go back to Nebraska.But once again, Postol (28-0, 12 KOs), who will be making his first title defense, is the underdog as he and the 28-year-old Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs), the 2014 fighter of the year who will be making defense No. 3, get set to duke it out for division supremacy.But Postol, 32, is confident as is Roach, the Hall of Famer and seven-time trainer of the year. One of the reasons for Postols confidence is the presence of Roach, as respected a trainer as there is in boxing.I do not consider myself an underdog in this fight. Terence Crawfords fans might consider me as the underdog but that does not bother me, Postol said. Im 100 percent confident in myself and in my victory and the reasons are simple. I work harder in training camp than my opponents because I have to, because I want to. I have the best trainer working with me and his name his Freddie Roach. He has been named trainer of the year a record seven times and he is in the Hall of Fame.Crawford has no one like that on his team. Since I have been training with Freddie I have knocked out two of the three opponents I have faced -- Lucas Matthysse and Selcuk Aydin. Both were No. 2 world-rated contenders and both times I was considered the underdog. I have passed every test that I have taken as a professional fighter and with the best teacher in boxing working with me I intend to pass this one with flying colors. This victory will prove to everyone that I am the best fighter at 140 pounds and the king of the division.Postol also enters the fight with a big load off his mind. His wife, Olga, gave birth to their twin boys, Lukian and Timofey, on Tuesday in Ukraine. Postol said when the fight was announced that their impending arrival was big motivation for him because he wanted to bring home one title belt for each baby. Now that they are here, Postol said he has a sense of relief going into the fight.Roach has worked with a whos who of fighters during his career, most notably Manny Pacquiao. He has loved what he has seen from Postol since they hooked up before the Aydin fight and said he will take down another top opponent in Crawford.I do not feel that Viktor is an underdog going into this fight, Roach said. Why should I? In his two toughest tests -- Lucas Matthysse and Selcuk Aydin -- he didnt just knock them out, he took their will to fight away. He broke them down brick by brick. His experience against blue-chip opposition has been great preparation for his fight with Terence Crawford.Dont get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for Crawford. He has a lot of talent. But I think this is going to come down to resumes and I think Postol has fought tougher and better opponents than Crawford. Postol even spent an entire training camp with Manny Pacquiao in 2014 when Manny was preparing for Chris Algieri. Viktor more than held his own against Manny. Crawford is going to find out that defending a title against Hank Lundy and Dierry Jean is a lot different than fighting a fellow undefeated world champion like Viktor Postol. A win for Viktor will mean that the U.S. and the world has a new star in boxing. A star as bright as boxing has ever seen. Darren Helm Red Wings Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Evgeny Svechnikov Red Wings Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/pavel-datsyuk-jersey/ . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. 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CARMEL, Ind. -- Jason Day withdrew during the final round of the BMW Championship on Sunday for precautionary reasons after an ongoing back issue flared up when he went to put his tee in the ground at the ninth hole.Day, the defending champion and No. 1-ranked player in the world, was receiving treatment afterward and might have an MRI performed to make sure there are no serious issues, agent Bud Martin said.I think hell be fine -- I dont think its anything he hasnt done before, Martin said. Better safe than sorry. We hope hes ready for Atlanta, but the most important thing is the next 15 years, not the next 15 days.Day, 28, has had lower back and disc issues for several years. Earlier this year, he wwas troubled by the problem during the first day of the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, where it was uncertain if he would be able to continue.ddddddddddddHe ended up winning the tournament.Last year he withdrew from the pro-am at the Barclays under similar circumstances, and two years ago he withdrew from the BMW Championship because of back problems.Day, who has won three times this year on the PGA Tour, will earn no FedEx Cup points because of the withdrawal. He began the week ranked third in the points but could fall to fifth depending on how the final round unfolds. ' ' '