On August 19, 2017, Crawford took on unified WBA/IBF champion Julius Indongo for the undisputed 140-pound title. Crawford was simply electric, putting Indongo away with a beautiful body shot in the third round for a historic victory.
After the fifth started, Crawford appeared to be timing Spence better and more. And yet, Spence came back from that, too. He started targeting Crawford’s midsection exclusively. This was smart, because he already looked tired, and his best chance at that point was to force Crawford into the same feeling. The sixth was the first close round and, halfway through a night that portended greatness, the bout was so close that, if not for the knockdown, it likely would have been tied.
Round 4: Kalajdzic firing a jab that’s no real deterrent for Morrell. Now lands a right and a combination. Morrell all but scoffs as he moves forward, but Kalajdzic is far more active in this round. Morrell 39, Kalajdzic 37.
"I was getting kicked out of school for fighting. Midge kicked me out of the gym because we were getting into it. I didn't care. I played football. I played basketball. I wrestled. In all those sports, I was getting into it with my teammates," said Crawford, a talented, multi-sport athlete.
WBO welterweight champion terence crawford weight division Crawford defended his belt on Saturday in Las Vegas, defeating Shawn Porter by 10th-round TKO after Porter's corner threw in the towel. After the fight, Porter announced he was retiring from boxing. Crawford called out fellow welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. to the delight of every fan of the sport. Will he get that fight?
In the corner in the seventh, Crawford caught Spence with a blistering uppercut and then landed a right to the ear. Spence collapsed in big trouble, and only someone with the huge championship heart and competitiveness he possesses would drag himself off the canvas.
A power-punching pressure fighter, Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) owns a 2016 win over a well-past-his-prime version of Hall of Famer Shane Mosley. With an expected victory over Avanesyan, the European welterweight champion, Crawford could move onto the long-awaited matchup with Spence.
Both men were amped up to start the fight, with the opening five minutes featuring high volume from Vettori, who added a higher kicking output to his arsenal since his last fight, and more power shots from Dolidze. In the second and third, "The Italian Dream" banked on his output and movement, remaining technical while Dolidze looked to score with high-impact blows at a much lower clip.
At first, there was a target date of November and December 2022 for a Spence-Crawford fight. Max Kellerman told Mike Coppinger there were disagreements in contract talks regarding events, expenses, and transparency, while Crawford went in-depth about how representatives from two unnamed hedge funds offered guaranteed purses of $25 million for himself and Spence.
Round 7: A very tough round to score, which is par for this fight. But what sealed that round for Porter might have been a right hook that seemed to catch Crawford pretty well in his corner. Crawford shrugged it off, which suggests that he felt it a little bit. 10-9 Porter, 67-66 Porter.
Round 3: Tellez with a combination that Garcia just eats. Garcia pops Tellez’s head back with an uppercut. Good 1-2 by Tellez. Garcia throwing that uppercut every time Tellez attacks the body. Whoa, right hand from Tellez just freezes Garcia, but he only squats without falling. As Garcia straightens up, he eats another hard shot and there’s the knockdown. Garcia answers the count, but he is in big trouble. Tellez pours it on and it’s not getting any better for Garcia. The referee has to step in.
"It means everything because of who I took the belts from," said Crawford. "They talked bad about me. They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights. I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is. Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am."
In April 2015, Crawford rose in weight to become the WBO 140-pound champion with a sixth-round TKO of Thomas Dulorme. He made six defenses at 140, snatching the WBC belt in July 2016 with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Viktor Postol.
Crawford became a promotional free agent following a 10th-round TKO victory over Shawn Porter in November 2021, paving the way for a potential bout with Spence. The sides engaged in talks for much of last year and were on the verge of completing a deal in September, but talks collapsed at the 11th hour.
Round 4: Kalajdzic comes out firing jabs, trying to get back into this. Morrell tosses out a one-two but Kalajdzic answers with a stiff counter. Kalajdzic paws out his jab then uncorks a right hand. Nice counter left to the temple by Morrell. Kalajdzic whiffs on a combination. Morrell makes him pay, blasting a punch straight into Kalajdzic’s sternum. Nice counter by Kalajdzic after a Morrell entry. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Morrell. (40-36 Morrell.)
After the fifth started, Crawford appeared to be timing Spence better and more. And yet, Spence came back from that, too. He started targeting Crawford’s midsection exclusively. This was smart, because he already looked tired, and his best chance at that point was to force Crawford into the same feeling. The sixth was the first close round and, halfway through a night that portended greatness, the bout was so close that, if not for the knockdown, it likely would have been tied.
Round 4: Kalajdzic firing a jab that’s no real deterrent for Morrell. Now lands a right and a combination. Morrell all but scoffs as he moves forward, but Kalajdzic is far more active in this round. Morrell 39, Kalajdzic 37.
"I was getting kicked out of school for fighting. Midge kicked me out of the gym because we were getting into it. I didn't care. I played football. I played basketball. I wrestled. In all those sports, I was getting into it with my teammates," said Crawford, a talented, multi-sport athlete.
WBO welterweight champion terence crawford weight division Crawford defended his belt on Saturday in Las Vegas, defeating Shawn Porter by 10th-round TKO after Porter's corner threw in the towel. After the fight, Porter announced he was retiring from boxing. Crawford called out fellow welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. to the delight of every fan of the sport. Will he get that fight?
In the corner in the seventh, Crawford caught Spence with a blistering uppercut and then landed a right to the ear. Spence collapsed in big trouble, and only someone with the huge championship heart and competitiveness he possesses would drag himself off the canvas.
A power-punching pressure fighter, Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) owns a 2016 win over a well-past-his-prime version of Hall of Famer Shane Mosley. With an expected victory over Avanesyan, the European welterweight champion, Crawford could move onto the long-awaited matchup with Spence.
Both men were amped up to start the fight, with the opening five minutes featuring high volume from Vettori, who added a higher kicking output to his arsenal since his last fight, and more power shots from Dolidze. In the second and third, "The Italian Dream" banked on his output and movement, remaining technical while Dolidze looked to score with high-impact blows at a much lower clip.
At first, there was a target date of November and December 2022 for a Spence-Crawford fight. Max Kellerman told Mike Coppinger there were disagreements in contract talks regarding events, expenses, and transparency, while Crawford went in-depth about how representatives from two unnamed hedge funds offered guaranteed purses of $25 million for himself and Spence.
Round 7: A very tough round to score, which is par for this fight. But what sealed that round for Porter might have been a right hook that seemed to catch Crawford pretty well in his corner. Crawford shrugged it off, which suggests that he felt it a little bit. 10-9 Porter, 67-66 Porter.
"It means everything because of who I took the belts from," said Crawford. "They talked bad about me. They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights. I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is. Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am."
Crawford became a promotional free agent following a 10th-round TKO victory over Shawn Porter in November 2021, paving the way for a potential bout with Spence. The sides engaged in talks for much of last year and were on the verge of completing a deal in September, but talks collapsed at the 11th hour.
Round 4: Kalajdzic comes out firing jabs, trying to get back into this. Morrell tosses out a one-two but Kalajdzic answers with a stiff counter. Kalajdzic paws out his jab then uncorks a right hand. Nice counter left to the temple by Morrell. Kalajdzic whiffs on a combination. Morrell makes him pay, blasting a punch straight into Kalajdzic’s sternum. Nice counter by Kalajdzic after a Morrell entry. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Morrell. (40-36 Morrell.)