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Terence Crawford produced a boxing masterclass to defeat Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In a super-fight that most fans thought would never materialise, it was Crawford, who had moved up astronomically in weight to face the Mexican who reigned supreme, stripping his opponent of the undisputed super-middleweight title as he claimed a unanimous decision victory.
The scorecards read 116-112, 115-113, 115-113, all in the Omaha-native’s favour.
In turn, ‘Bud’ becomes the first male fighter ever to become an undisputed champion in a third weight division.
Over the course of the 12-round fight, Crawford demonstrated that he was up to the challenge of living with Canelo’s size advantage.
The pair had weighed in exactly at 167.5lbs on Friday, but with there being no rehydration clause, it was at Canelo’s discretion as to how heavy he wanted to enter the ring at.
Crawford, however, at 38 years old, stepped up to the plate, and in fact, gave better than he got.
He was front-footed in exchanges, willingly trading at range with the Mexican, whose 39 knockout victories did not seem to scare his American counterpart one bit.
Instead, it was Crawford’s intent to engage, popping jabs in his typical southpaw stance, while also keeping his bigger opponent at distance.
When it came to working in the pocket, Bud was able to land at will, and when he could unleash his left hand, he startled Canelo with numerous headshots.
He soaked up the Mexican’s power incredibly, with Alvarez raining down bomb after bomb from his back hand, but Crawford kept coming, unfazed by what, to everyone else, would have been a knockout blow.
His star showing continued as the rounds wore on, with Canelo seemingly running out of ideas, as Crawford’s uppercuts continued to do damage.
The bell rang, and both fighters lifted their arms, but Alvarez had done so out of pride rather than expectation. He knew he had been dominated.
Crawford had come into his own backyard and taken his undisputed championship at the very first time of asking.
