Boxing
What are Crawford's five indelible impacts on boxing?
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Today marks the one-year anniversary of Terence Crawford successfully moving up from super welterweight to super middleweight and defeating Canelo Alvarez to reach undisputed glory in an unprecedented third division before retiring undefeated.
In celebration of the future lock Hall of Famer’s career, DAZN News looks back on five indelible impacts the Omaha, Nebraska native made on boxing.
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An ultra-competitive nature
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Leading up to his mega bout with Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford told ESPN: “Losing is not an option. I have to win at all costs and no matter what.”
That’s a Michael Jordan-level of ultra-competitive nature that ‘Bud’ attacked the sport with and fans witnessed it kicked into overdrive over many moments in his stellar career:
- Like the June 2014 fight he had to come back from being clipped and put on jelly legs by Yuriorkis Gamboa, only to eventually stop the Cuban via ninth-round KO.
- I was covering the December 2019 fight between Crawford and Egidijus Kavaliauskas and it sure looked like ‘Mean Machine’ dropped ‘Bud’ with a right hand in the third round, despite it being officially ruled a slip. Still, Crawford battled back and willed his way to a ninth-round TKO.
- Crawford was up on the scorecards heading into the 10th round of his November 2021 fight with Shawn Porter. However, his corner told him he was down and losing the fight to rev up that mean streak. So, how did Crawford respond? By knocking out Porter in that round.
- By the time he fought Canelo Alvarez last September, Crawford knew he was levels above him and anyone else. Not known as a talker, ‘Bud’ couldn’t help but warn the Mexican face of boxing during a press conference: “So when I beat you, is you gonna be a nobody? When I stomp a mudhole in your ass, is you gonna be a nobody? You gonna be just like everybody else — watch.”
- Even in retirement, his competitive nature is alive and well as he took to his X social media account just last week to take the temperature of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for a possible fight, stirring up questions whether he is truly done with the sport.
Daring to be even greater
'The Truth' is Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford had a Hall of Fame career completed when he destroyed Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023 to become the undisputed welterweight world champion.
The win gave the pound-for-pound staple his second undisputed crown as he achieved the feat at super lightweight prior. No man cleaned out those divisions in boxing’s four-belt era.
Crawford was already an all-time great who could have stopped there at a pristine 40-0 ... but he didn’t.
He moved up to 154 pounds and defeated Israil Madrimov to become a four-division world champion.
Then, he moved up an additional two weight classes to defeat Canelo Alvarez to become a five-division world champion, capturing a third undisputed crown.
These conscious moves not only had Crawford daring to be even greater, but proving he’s this generation's best and an all-time great … which brings us to his next impact.
Pushing the Floyd Mayweather GOAT discussion
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LeBron James isn’t done with his Hall of Fame career, but whatever should transpire between now and his retirement, he can always boast about being the NBA’s all-time points leader with the most career minutes and most regular-season games played.
While those records via James’ longevity still might not be enough for him to supplant Michael Jordan as the game’s GOAT, they certainly make the discussion more intriguing.
Similarly, in reveling in undisputed acclaim in three weight classes (super lightweight, welterweight and super middleweight), Crawford accomplished something that Floyd Mayweather Jr. never did.
In fact, the only other boxer to accomplish the feat in the modern era was Claressa Shields who notched it before ‘Bud.’
Crawford closed out his career 42-0 to Mayweather’s 50-0, but the three undisputed crowns has ‘Bud’ as the GOAT over Mayweather in some boxing fans’ eyes.
At the very least, the achievement made the GOAT argument between the two more fun.
Shattering the proverbial ‘wrong side of the street’ his way, destroying the idea of a ‘50-50 fight’
Terence Crawford heard the chatter about him being on proverbial ‘wrong side of the street’ for years as he fought under Bob Arum’s Top Rank and talents such as Shawn Porter, Errol Spence Jr. and more competed under Premier Boxing Champions.
Well, it took plenty of effort to get Crawford and Porter in the ring together and after ‘Bud’ produced the 10th-round TKO in that fight, he had enough.
With Arum sitting right next to him in that post-fight press conference, Crawford announced he’s walking away from Top Rank.
“I’m pretty sure my decision is made already,” Crawford said. “Bob couldn’t secure me the Spence fight when I was with him, so how is he gonna secure me the Spence fight when I’m not with him? I’m moving forward with my career right now.”
In doing that, Crawford facilitated the making of the Spence mega fight, bringing his WBO welterweight title to the table stacked against Spence’s WBA, WBC and IBF straps. He secured the coveted Spence fight for the undisputed 147-pound world championship.
Heading into the July 2023 showdown with Spence at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, many boxing fans and critics alike had it pinned as a 50-50 fight. Hell, I sat down for a local sports show here in New York City and called it a 50-50 fight, predicting a Crawford win on points.
Crawford had the last laugh. Not only did he show the proverbial ‘wrong side of the street’ might have been concocted to keep or delay him from meeting PBC talent, but he shattered the concept altogether.
Crawford took a perceived ’50-50 fight’ and made it one-way traffic, ruthlessly dropping Spence three times en route to a ninth-round demolition.
Retiring as the face of boxing
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He might have been overlooked as the ‘face of boxing’ through his career, but in handily defeating Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision last September, Terence Crawford left no doubts.
He exited boxing as the sport’s face and pound-for-pound king, undefeated through 42 bouts and a five-division world champion with undisputed crowns in an unprecedented three different weight classes.
Not only did Crawford retire as the face of boxing, but I believe he put his mug on boxing’s Mount Rushmore. The fact he did it his way made his indelible impacts on the sport all the more sweeter.
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