Terence Crawford is undeniably a pound-for-pound elite fighter right now, and, with a fight against Canelo announced, could even become the next face of boxing, though one night he had to dig deep to secure a major victory.
Terence Crawford will dare to be great in September of this year as he moves up two divisions to challenge Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed super-middleweight titles.
Crawford’s last win came against Israil Madrimov in the super-welterweight division, making him a four-weight world champion.
Before moving up ‘Bud’ Crawford campaigned at welterweight for years, and it was here that he met one of his toughest opponents yet.
Terence Crawford produced a dominant KO seconds after learning he was down on the scorecards
In 2021, Crawford, who was knocked down by Egidijus Kavaliauskas but not counted for it, faced 31-3-1 Shawn Porter in a defense of his WBO title.
The fight was a close back-and-forth, and Porter, despite his losses, proved he belonged at the top level.
He had lost only to Keith Thurman, Kell Brook, and Errol Spence, with the latter two losses coming by majority and split decision.
After the ninth round, Bud was seen being told by his corner that Porter was up. Crawford looked baffled, asking how that could be the case, but as the bell sounded for the round to begin all he said was:
“He up? Okay.”
Crawford, who defeated Yuriorkis Gamboa, dropped Porter twice in the opening half of the tenth round, before Porter’s father and trainer stepped in to protect his son.
Crawford was awarded the victory while Porter retired.
Terence Crawford and Canelo face-off for the first time
Following Canelo’s dull and record-breaking win over William Scull, the two pound-for-pound stars and face of boxing candidates faced off in the ring.
The pair will fight in the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on September 12th.
Despite Bud moving up in weight for the bout, he didn’t look dwarfed by Canelo in their face-off, and after Canelo’s performance last night, some fans are now swaying more towards the Omaha man.
One fan praised the fight, writing: “No marketing needed. This is what a real fight feels like.”