This past weekend from the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, and live on Netflix, the unexpected happened. Terence “Bud” Crawford (42-0, 31KO) jumped up three weight classes to defeat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-3-2, 39KO) at 168 pounds to capture all the world titles at super middleweight. The mega fight went the distance with one judge seeing for Crawford of Omaha, Nebraska, with a scorecard of 116-112 while the two others scored it a closer 115-113 over Alvarez of Guadalajara, Mexico.
I scored it 117-111.
From the opening bell it was evident the 37-year-old Crawford was not only faster footed, which was expected, but also displayed quicker hands. With Crawford going up from 147 pounds to 168, with a quick detour at 154 pounds in his last fight, the question of him losing speed as he gained weight was a question.
He answered fast.
For quite some time now Alvarez, 35, has become a stalker in his style, looking to trap his opponent and score one big punch. The style is quite contrary to the style which made him famous, a natural counterpuncher with nearly impeccable defense. The only drawback Alvarez had for much of his career was his plodding feet and the fact he tends to get tired in the last third of the fight.
Those shortcomings reared their ugly heads in his fight against Crawford. Along with only looking for one telling punch which was perhaps the correct strategy early on against such a smaller opponent on paper, as the fight developed it became quite evident Alvarez was not going to be able to counter Crawford’s mobility and as the Mexican continued to follow Crawford around the ring instead of cutting it off, he was clearly tired by a little after half of the scheduled 12 rounds.
In quite possibly the best round of the fight, the ninth, all that came together has Crawford tried his luck and more importantly his chin and stood toe-to-toe with Alvarez. Alvarez’s defense did not shine when faced by a quicker puncher and the strikes began to rain like a monsoon on the face of “Canelo”. So much so that by the 11th Alvarez’s frustration of getting caught with punches other opponents had never scored with was evident on his reddening face.
Along with the uncertainly if Crawford’s speed was going to climb up the divisions, his punch resistance was another question as well. Although Alvarez did not land many flush punches to the head, he did score several left hooks to the body but Crawford was able to survive that attack as well as to the head.
With the win Crawford becomes the first male fighter to become undisputed in three divisions. He achieved it at 140, 147 and now at 168 pounds. The only other fighter to do it as well in the undefeated Claressa Shields who currently holds all the titles at heavyweight.
It cannot be denied Crawford has achieved an unprecedented achievement but also in the running for the current pound for pound king is heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk who has reigned terror in his division as well as Japanese Naoya Inoue who has captured several titles from 112 to 122 pounds while remaining undefeated as well.
There is also talk of Crawford with the win ascending to one of the top 15 fighters of all-time.
So, what is next for Crawford? It is questionable if he will fight again in 2025 since for decades fighters at his level have fought more two times a year. The most logical fight for the Omaha native would be a rematch with Alvarez. The fight was close enough in the judges’ scorecards to make it interesting and it would be the biggest money fight for him.
After the fight Crawford mentioned perhaps moving down to 160-pound division and look for titles there perhaps looking to unify yet another division.
What is next for Alvarez is a bit more complicated. Turki Al-Sheikh, the head of Riyadh Season and Sela, stated the Mexican has two more contractual fights scheduled with the Saudi Arabian government. The rematch is one option according to Al-Sheikh as well as fights against undefeated Hamzah Sheeraz, David Benavidez and the winner between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Other Musings
-This weekend as well Naoya Inoue dominated former champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev to defend all the titles at 122 pounds. After the fight Inoue stated one more fight, more than likely vs Mexican David Picasso, then he would take on the also undefeated Junto Nakatani in an all-Japanese showdown.
-In the same fight card, Mexican Christian “Chispa” Medina defeated Yoshiki Takei to capture the WBO bantamweight world title. With the win, Medina becomes the current 9th world champion for Mexico joining the likes of Emmanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete, Eduardo “Sugar” Nuñez, Issac “Pitbull” Cruz, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, Armando “Toro” Resendiz, Rafael “Divino” Espinoza and Willibaldo Garcia.
-Tragically on Sunday morning it was announced the body of former two-divisional world champion Ricky “Hitman” Hatton was found in his home in Manchester, England. Known for his aggressive come-forward style, Hatton fought the best in his division including Kostya Tszyu, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Rest in Power Hatton.
