Terence Crawford has once again made history, defeating Canelo Alvarez to become the first male undisputed champion in three weight classes. The boxing stars clashed this past Saturday, live on Netflix from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The highly anticipated showdown between two four-division champions went the full distance. “Bud” Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) came out on top, dethroning Canelo (62-3-2, 39 KOs) with scores of 116-112, 115-113, and 115-113.
With the victory by unanimous decision, Crawford of Omaha, NE conquered the super middleweight division, becoming the new king at 168 lbs. Earlier in his career, the undefeated 37-year-old southpaw claimed all four major belts at 140 lbs and 147 lbs.
‘You looking at the undisputed champion’
“Great things come to those who wait,” Terence Crawford said during the post-fight press conference. “The cream always rises to the top.”
“All the time that they block me out. They said I wasn’t fighting nobody. I can’t beat this dude. I can’t beat that dude. Every time that I got a chance, I wipe the floor with him. Wipe the floor with ’em.”
“So just imagine where I would’ve been at today if I had got them opportunities a long time ago. But then again, it wasn’t my time. My time is now, and I’m happy that everything played out the way it did. And you looking at the undisputed champion of the world right now.”
‘Sometimes you try and your body cannot go’
Mexico’s two-time undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo came up short in his first defense during his second reign. The 35-year-old native of Guadalajara, Jalisco saw his six-fight winning streak snapped.
“We knew Crawford is a great fighter,” Canelo Alvarez said. “I did what I was supposed to do, right? I trained really hard and he deserves all the credit. I tried my best tonight and I just could not figure out the style.”
“Sometimes you try and your body cannot go, right? That was my frustration. Maybe I could figure out Crawford, but my body could not go anymore. I tried, but my body didn’t let me. You need to accept it. That’s it.”
“I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather.”
In other bouts
In the co-feature, Callum Walsh (15-0, 11 KOs) of Ireland defeated Fernando Vargas (17-1, 15 KOs) of Oxnard, CA by unanimous decision. After 10 rounds at super welterweight, the scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90.
On the undercard, Canada-based Cameroonian-French Christian Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) and Lester Martinez (19-0-1, 16 KOs) of Guatemala fought to a split draw. One judge scored the fight 96-94 for Mbilli, another scored it 97-93 for Martinez, while the third judge declared 95-95.
Mbilli, who put his interim WBC super middleweight title on the line, retained his belt.
Among other Canelo vs Crawford results, Mohammed Alakel (6-0, 1 KO) of Saudi Arabia defeated Travis Crawford (7-5, 2 KOs) of Corpus Christi, TX by unanimous decision at super featherweight. The 10-round fight ended with scores of 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92.