Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs), who is nicknamed “Bud,” traveled to Scotland in 2014 to win his first world title, a decision over Ricky Burns at 135 pounds. He went on to win the undisputed championship at 140 pounds and is now the first man to capture all four belts at 147 pounds.
Crawford took over in the second and never removed his foot from the gas. It was a jaw-dropping performance by a proud man who has long sought recognition for what we can now say are his other-worldly skills.
On July 1, 2017, Top Rank announced that a light welterweight unification fight between Crawford, and WBA regular and IBF champion Julius Indongo was agreed upon to take place on August 19 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska, live on ESPN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the U.K. WBA sanctioned the fight for WBA super title. With the unification of every major world title in boxing (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) will determine the light welterweight division’s first undisputed champion since Kostya Tszyu in 2004, and the first time all the aforementioned titles have been at stake in a single fight since Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor in 2005. Both fighters paid over $100,000 U.S. dollars in sanctioning fees. Crawford entered the fight as a heavy favourite to win.
Live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it’s a battle between two undefeated titans as Spence (28-0-0) and Crawford (39-0-0) square off in what many are saying could be one of the most significant fights in boxing history. No pressure guys!
The complex negotiations to get the fighters in the ring after years of fans and media alike salivating for a showdown between the two resulted in a contract with a bilateral rematch clause. As the loser, Spence is able to activate the rematch, which he indicated he would do after suffering a one-sided defeat.
Any time there’s superfight like this, a rematch is in the cards. According to the rematch clause the two fighters agreed on, Spence will get to decide if he wants another crack at Crawford but it will be the champion who gets to decide whether they fight at 147 pounds again or move up to 154 pounds.
The Porter matchup is an opportunity for Crawford to get that signature victory in the division that his résumé is missing. For Porter, this is a chance to regain the title against a pound-for-pound fighter, and show he’s still one of the best fighter at 147 pounds.
Left hand lead misses for Crawford. Clean right hand lands for Crawford who now wants to dig to the body. Crawford lands a few clean shots to the head during an exchange. Crawford lands a jab. Another awkward collision from the fighters who clash heads again. Right hook lands well for Porter, then another! Porter loops another right hook upstairs. Now Porter lands a clean jab upstairs. Close round that I’m going to slightly edge to Crawford.
“I’m totally focused on staying at 135 pounds because it’s where I feel strongest and most comfortable,” Cruz said. “I just want to give everyone watching a great show. I’ve made a connection with the fans because I showed that I’m not afraid to fight the best. I have no fear, just resolve.”
“I swear, I swear, I have said this before, but I’ve always dreamed of being a world champion,” said Crawford, who improved to 40-0 and became the first male boxer in the four-belt era to be undisputed in two weight classes. “I’m an overachiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up.”
While 2022 may be remembered as one of boxing’s greatest years in decades in terms of the quality fights that were put on, it got better on Thursday when unbeaten welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr. and terence crawford’s next fight Crawford agreed to terms for a unification bout on Nov. 19 in Las Vegas.
Crawford’s debut was a 26-second stoppage in March 2008 over Brian Cummings, who entered the ring at 2-0 (2 KOs). He ended that year with a second-round TKO of Michael Williams in November, rising to 5-0 (3 KOs).
Crawford held onto his titles, stopping Molina in the eighth round in front of a large home crowd in Omaha. Crawford moved around the ring for most of the fight, jabbing, holding and pot-shotting Molina. Referee Mark Nelson halted the fight in the eight round after Molina received three consecutive hits to the head. In the post-fight interview, Crawford felt he should be the 2016 ‘Fighter of the Year’ for his wins over Molina, Lundy and Postol, “I feel like I got it. I just have to wait until the results come in.” Crawford also reiterated his desire to unify the division before a possible move up to welterweight. Crawford landed 184 punches from 419 thrown, Molina landed 41 of 287 thrown, a 14% connect rate. The fight drew an average 806,000 viewers and peaked at 871,000 viewers on HBO.
“It means everything because of who I took the belts from,” Crawford said. “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.
