By Francisco Salazar

Viktor Postol relishes being an underdog.

It has gotten him to were he is today.

He has been able to pull off wins over Selcuk Aydin and Lucas Matthysse, but faces his most difficult task come Saturday night.

Postol will square off against Terence Crawford in a unification bout between unbeaten junior welterweights at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev.

The 12 round bout will headline an HBO Pay Per View broadcast, which begins at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

Postol (28-0, 12 KOs) has displayed more power in recent fights, knocking out two of his last three opponents. Both of those knockouts where against Aydin and Matthysse, which was Postol's last fight on October 3.

A knockout win over Crawford would be sweeter for Postol, even if he believes he can do more than enough to win a decision.

"Nothing concerns me," said Postol at a recent media workout at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif. "I understand that he's an American, but I want everything to be fair and honest for this fight."

"Of course I (would) want to win by knockout. It would be great. But I don't try to look or the knockout. I'm going to do my best and if I could knock him out, then it's a bonus."

His trainer Freddie Roach, who placed a bet at the MGM Grand on Postol knocking out Crawford, agrees. Roach believes Postol's intangibles outweigh Crawford's skill-set, particularly one major factor.

"His jab," said Roach. "His left hand is terrific. He sets everything up off the left hand. He does have good power in his right hand. He will not go after a knockout early in a fight. He'll break you down with a jab first. He finds the right distance. After about seven-eight rounds, that's when he'll go for the knockout."

"(Postol) is very patient. He doesn't try to do it very quickly. He sets it up, breaks the fighter down, and then knocks him out. When he beat Matthysse, everyone is jumping because I know he's getting up. When he didn't, I was very surprised. He evidently does have power in that right hand."

Postol holds the WBC junior welterweight title.

Life is better for Postol now than what it was a few years ago, when he was mostly an unknown commodity in his native Ukraine.

While boxing fans know more about Postol now, he was fighting in the shadow of Wladimir Klitschko and Vasyl Lomachenko. Early on in his career, Postol made ends meet by working as a security guard at a mall in his hometown.

Life is currently much better for Postol, who will earn a purse of $675,000 for the Crawford fight.

"My manager (Vadim Kornilov) reached out to Freddie Roach," said Postol. That is how I found my way to Wild Card and I'm very glad."

I never thought I would wind up here (at Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif.) with Freddie. I started upstairs and I saw how the fighters and their blood and sweat. I liked it and the atmosphere. From that moment, I wanted to work with Roach. Freddie Roach was one of the great trainers because of the fighters he has trained."

An impressive win over Crawford would allow Postol to be the top fighter at 140 pounds. It would be interesting to see whether a win would position him to face Manny Pacquiao, who is returning to the ring on November 5.

One thing is for sure: Postol would no longer be looked at as an underdog.

"Yes, I see people have me an underdog. But it doesn't insult me. In fact, it motivates me. I'm moving forward."

"It's a big dream for me to be number one. To beat Crawford would be top level for me. It's very important for me."

Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing