Terence Crawford won his main event bout against Errol Spence Jr., becoming the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era, with Spence expressing his hope for a rematch.
Terence Crawford can consider himself the reigning light in the boxing world following his recent grand victory. Known as “Bud”, Crawford delivered a stellar performance on Saturday in Las Vegas, winning his main event bout with Errol Spence Jr. With a track record of 28-1 and 2 KOs, Crawford emerged as the undisputed welterweight king. Adding Spence’s WBA, WBC, and IBF belts to his collection, Crawford, already holding the WBO title going into the bout, became the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era, starting in 2004.
Crawford explained post-fight just how significant this achievement was to him on a personal level. “They tried to blackball me,” Crawford opened up. “They kept me out. They talked badly about me and said that I wasn’t good enough, that I stood no chance against these top welterweights. But I remained steadfast, kept my faith in God, praying for an opportunity to prove to the world just how great Terence Crawford is. I believe I was able to demonstrate my greatness tonight.”
During one of the year’s more highly anticipated bouts, Crawford (with 40-0 and 31 KOs) painted a picture of a mismatch between him and Spence, utilizing his sharp counters and a power jab to completely overthrow Spence’s game tactics. Crawford managed to knock Spence down with a devastating combination in Round 2, marking the first knockdown of Spence’s career. Despite Spence staying active for the rest of the fight, he was unable to fully recover. Crawford continued to assault him with power shots, with Spence’s damage proving to be substantial enough for the ringside doctor to assess his ability to continue the fight at the outset of Round 5.
From then on, things went downhill for Spence, as Crawford knocked him down twice in Round 7 securing a 10-7 score. Crawford then sealed Spence’s fate in round 9 with a flurry of punches, compelling referee Harvey Dock to call off the fight. Spence, who had previously been undefeated, actively expressed his desire for a rematch against Crawford. Professing optimistically post-fight, Spence stated, “Hell yeah, we’ve got to do it again. I’m going to be a lot better. It’s going to be a lot closer, it’s probably going to be in December before the end of the year.” He included his preference for a rematch to take place at 154 pounds.