In what was billed by many as a 50-50 fight, Crawford delivered his best performance to date, dropping Errol Spence Jr. three times toward a ninth-round TKO to become the undisputed welterweight world champion Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Not to mention the fact he is already widely regarded as one of the best super-lightweight’s the world has ever seen having been the undisputed champion at 140-pounds already. Now he is the undisputed king at welterweight too. Quite magnificent.
It was a matter of the same business that kept boxing unappealing for the last few years, losing eyes to the shameless promotion of influencer clashes instead of the pugilism that launched men from poverty into powerhouses. Critics of Bud’s resume, flawless and peerless as it might be, usually point back to his lack of high-level competition. The boxer’s argument is one that many have made: blame the people putting on the fights.
Referee Kenny Bayless ultimately waved the bout off in the eighth round despite N'Dam not being seriously hurt. In the end, it was probably the right call. But even in the victory, Alimkhanuly showed that several aspects of his game can improve before he chases significant bouts later in his career.
The friendship vibes didn’t last long, though. Crawford stalked into T-Mobile Arena as early as he possibly could Saturday afternoon. It was 5 p.m. here and still hot as all hell. Now, boxers but especially the best boxers, the elite boxers, the champions among champions, almost never arrive on time for a bout of such magnitude with three others to be held before they can even walk. I’ve never seen someone arrive exactly on time until Crawford did. And this, from a fighter who routinely nods off when reviewing his own fights on his grandmother’s couch in Omaha, Neb.
Crawford faced Julius Indongo for all four belts at 140-pounds, winning the fight via emphatic stoppage in just three rounds. After becoming undisputed champion, Crawford then dared to be great as he stepped up to welterweight in an attempt to become a three-weight world champion.
10:51 p.m. ET: Entering the 11th round, Cabrera's chin is still holding up. He's avoided some of the bigger shots from Cruz, who is still looking for the home run. It's not a pretty fight by any means but Cruz is comfortably ahead despite being docked a point earlier in the bout.
"To be honest, I never wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist," Crawford said. "Midge and BoMac, they wanted me to stay in the amateurs and win a gold medal because they know how tough it is coming out of Nebraska. I wanted to be a world champion."
Crawford comes out looking like he wants to mix it up more here as he lands a right hand. Both fighters trade at center ring and make grazing contact. Left lands for Porter upstairs. Hard body shot lands for Crawford to the body, then a right hand over the top. Left hand lands for Crawford in between two shots for Porter. Check hook from terrence crawford last fight just misses. Right hand lead lands for Porter as Crawford bounces into the ropes. Double jab comes from Porter this time. Jab lands for Porter again. Check hook lands for Crawford sending Porter into the corner. Crawford partially lands a shot just before the bell.
"I been wantin' the fight. And the people had me for the blame why the fight wasn't happening. And I don't wanna never go into detail and say or point fingers at anybody, so, you know, I called him up again and said, 'Hey, listen, you know, let's get this fight done. Let's make history. You wanna become undisputed champion of the welterweight division and so do I. So, let's come together and get this fight done.'"
Terence Crawford is set for his first fight since his career-defining win over Errol Spence Jr. this past July. Crawford, who became undisputed welterweight champion with his win over Spence, will make his junior middleweight debut against WBA champion Israil Madrimov on Aug. 2 in Los Angeles. A press conference is expected on Wednesday to formally announce the matchup.
Crawford put Spence down for the first time in his career when catching him off balance in round two, and then increased the hurt as the one-sided contest went on. Crawford battered Spence to the canvas twice in round seven and then referee Harvey Dock waved off the fight in round nine with Spence looking on the brink of another collapse.
"We practice that," said Crawford. "Normally in camp we do a flick and jab. But we knew that wasn’t going to work with Errol Spence because he’s durable, he’s strong. So, we had to practice a strong firm jab. The jab hit him and stopped him in his tracks."
"This fight is happening at the right time. All the belts are on the line, so there’s even more to fight for. What better way to have this fight than to have it for the undisputed welterweight title?"
When the ninth round started, Crawford was ready to fillet the "Big Fish." He began connecting on unanswered punches — all landing flush and with power — toward the referee stepping in and stopping the fight due to too much punishment.
Not to mention the fact he is already widely regarded as one of the best super-lightweight’s the world has ever seen having been the undisputed champion at 140-pounds already. Now he is the undisputed king at welterweight too. Quite magnificent.It was a matter of the same business that kept boxing unappealing for the last few years, losing eyes to the shameless promotion of influencer clashes instead of the pugilism that launched men from poverty into powerhouses. Critics of Bud’s resume, flawless and peerless as it might be, usually point back to his lack of high-level competition. The boxer’s argument is one that many have made: blame the people putting on the fights.
Referee Kenny Bayless ultimately waved the bout off in the eighth round despite N'Dam not being seriously hurt. In the end, it was probably the right call. But even in the victory, Alimkhanuly showed that several aspects of his game can improve before he chases significant bouts later in his career.
The friendship vibes didn’t last long, though. Crawford stalked into T-Mobile Arena as early as he possibly could Saturday afternoon. It was 5 p.m. here and still hot as all hell. Now, boxers but especially the best boxers, the elite boxers, the champions among champions, almost never arrive on time for a bout of such magnitude with three others to be held before they can even walk. I’ve never seen someone arrive exactly on time until Crawford did. And this, from a fighter who routinely nods off when reviewing his own fights on his grandmother’s couch in Omaha, Neb.
Crawford faced Julius Indongo for all four belts at 140-pounds, winning the fight via emphatic stoppage in just three rounds. After becoming undisputed champion, Crawford then dared to be great as he stepped up to welterweight in an attempt to become a three-weight world champion.
10:51 p.m. ET: Entering the 11th round, Cabrera's chin is still holding up. He's avoided some of the bigger shots from Cruz, who is still looking for the home run. It's not a pretty fight by any means but Cruz is comfortably ahead despite being docked a point earlier in the bout.
"To be honest, I never wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist," Crawford said. "Midge and BoMac, they wanted me to stay in the amateurs and win a gold medal because they know how tough it is coming out of Nebraska. I wanted to be a world champion."
Crawford comes out looking like he wants to mix it up more here as he lands a right hand. Both fighters trade at center ring and make grazing contact. Left lands for Porter upstairs. Hard body shot lands for Crawford to the body, then a right hand over the top. Left hand lands for Crawford in between two shots for Porter. Check hook from terrence crawford last fight just misses. Right hand lead lands for Porter as Crawford bounces into the ropes. Double jab comes from Porter this time. Jab lands for Porter again. Check hook lands for Crawford sending Porter into the corner. Crawford partially lands a shot just before the bell.
"I been wantin' the fight. And the people had me for the blame why the fight wasn't happening. And I don't wanna never go into detail and say or point fingers at anybody, so, you know, I called him up again and said, 'Hey, listen, you know, let's get this fight done. Let's make history. You wanna become undisputed champion of the welterweight division and so do I. So, let's come together and get this fight done.'"
Terence Crawford is set for his first fight since his career-defining win over Errol Spence Jr. this past July. Crawford, who became undisputed welterweight champion with his win over Spence, will make his junior middleweight debut against WBA champion Israil Madrimov on Aug. 2 in Los Angeles. A press conference is expected on Wednesday to formally announce the matchup.
Crawford put Spence down for the first time in his career when catching him off balance in round two, and then increased the hurt as the one-sided contest went on. Crawford battered Spence to the canvas twice in round seven and then referee Harvey Dock waved off the fight in round nine with Spence looking on the brink of another collapse.
"We practice that," said Crawford. "Normally in camp we do a flick and jab. But we knew that wasn’t going to work with Errol Spence because he’s durable, he’s strong. So, we had to practice a strong firm jab. The jab hit him and stopped him in his tracks."
"This fight is happening at the right time. All the belts are on the line, so there’s even more to fight for. What better way to have this fight than to have it for the undisputed welterweight title?"
When the ninth round started, Crawford was ready to fillet the "Big Fish." He began connecting on unanswered punches — all landing flush and with power — toward the referee stepping in and stopping the fight due to too much punishment.