Terence Crawford joined the all-time greats of boxing after delivering a masterful performance in his Las Vegas super fight against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on Saturday.
Crawford, 37, jumped up two weight classes to outbox and outfight the legendary Mexican in front of a record crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium and a huge global television audience on Netflix.
The American rubbished fears he would be too small to compete physically with Canelo as he took the bigger man's best shots and paid him back with interest, often having the last word in the exchanges and leaving the now former undisputed super middleweight champion marked up and demoralised.
Two judges gave Crawford the verdict 115-113, and the third 116-112. Despite some close rounds, Crawford was a worthy winner with few disputing the outcome.
The unbeaten Crawford, who improved to 42-0 with 31 knockouts, went down to a knee even before the decision was announced and then wept after he was named the winner.
The victory bolsters his claim to be the greatest fighter of this era – perhaps only heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk can rival his achievements – and saw him set numerous benchmarks.
Crawford is the first fighter to have been undisputed champion in three weight classes – light welterweight, welterweight, and now super middleweight.
He is also the first man in history to have won a lightweight world title and then moved all the way up to win a title as a super middleweight – a jump of five divisions in total.
“I'm not here by coincidence. Canelo is a great champion, I have to take my hat off to him. He's a great competitor and I have great respect for him. He fought like a champion,” said Crawford.
Asked if he would fight again, he said: “I don't know, I have to sit down with my team and we'll talk about it. I want to say thank you to all the supporters and the haters. I appreciate you all. Shout out to my fans and those supporting Canelo. We get to go home to our children.”
For Canelo, there was pride even in defeat. “I'm a winner for being here. The fact I'm here makes me a winner. I take risks and that's what I did,” the 35-year-old said.
“I feel great to share the ring with great fighters like him. If we do it again, then it'll be great. I already accomplished a lot in boxing. My legacy is already there and I like taking risks because I love boxing.”
Wary of his opponent's fabled power, Crawford exercised caution in the early rounds and expertly neutralised Canelo's bombs with a calculated balancing act.
He managed the distance carefully and flitted in and out of danger, landing impressive flurries. The attritional assault by the smaller boxer put Canelo, who falls to 62-3-2 (39ko), on the back foot.
The Mexican connected with some thudding body shots but he and his team realised he was behind as the bout headed into the final stretch.
An accidental head clash cut Crawford and saw a brief pause in a pulsating ninth round as Canelo pressed the action.
Going into the 10th, his trainer Eddie Reynoso told him there were nine minutes left and he "needed the rounds". Heeding that advice he went on the attack, but the breakthrough never arrived.
If anything, Crawford grew in confidence, holding his feet more and landing devastating combinations and absorbing any punches that sneaked through his guard with resilience as he kept his remarkable unbeaten streak alive.
Netflix add gloss to historic event
The fact that the main event delivered in such a spectacular fashion will have provided huge satisfaction to Netflix bosses, with the streaming giant placing its considerable weight behind the bout.
Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi Arabian power broker de facto running world boxing, claimed on X that when the viewing figures are released, they will confirm Canelo-Crawford as the “most watched fight in history".
“I have information that Netflix will tell you on Monday this is now officially the most watched fight in professional boxing history. And the biggest attendance in a closed stadium in USA 70,482,” posted Alalshikh, referencing a record crowd for an indoor boxing event.
With live sport now firmly on their radar, Netflix had dipped their toe in the combat sports market by screening the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul exhibition last year and also a women's card headlined by the trilogy bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
But this was their first elite men's card and provided a telling glimpse of what the future of big-time boxing might look like.
Bankrolled by Riyadh Season and led by Alalshikh, this event was promoted by UFC President and CEO Dana White.
White has started a promotional entity called Zuffa Boxing in partnership with TKO Holdings and backed up by Alalshikh. With TKO being the parent company of UFC and WWE, Saturday's event seems like a key milestone as TKO look to add boxing to their expanding combat sports empire.
It’s a move that could see traditional promoters and sanctioning bodies frozen out, with the group looking to introduce their own rankings and championship belts in the near future. That process began when Alalshikh acquired Ring Magazine last year, and with it their belts, rankings and brand recognition.
It's unlikely Netflix will become a home for the weekly grind of a sport that is seldom as glamorous as Saturday, but it's clear they will be in the market to broadcast the really big events.
Canelo-Crawford certainly benefitted from their creative input, with the card elevated by a level of production value unseen in the sport since the glory days of boxing on HBO.
