When Terrence Crawford called out Saul Canelo Alvarez after his victory over Errol Spence it felt like the confidence of a young Lion who didnt know his place, the Mexican asked him to first jump weight from 154, and the American responded with a victory over Israil Madrimov setting up what many tagged the “Fight of the Century”
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For Crawford: A massive chance to make history. If he wins, he becomes the first male boxer in the four-belt (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO) era to be undisputed in three divisions
For Canelo: Defense of his legacy. A win preserves his status as undisputed champ, adds another high-profile win, and really blunts critiques about him choosing easier opponents.
September 13th finally arrived and both men met in the ring for a fight where Saul got 100m of the purse and Crawford got 10m, for the Omaha great it was not about the money, but the glory and legacy and boy did he achieve it and more because clearly the ‘Pound for Pound’ King conversation is clearly between Bud and Oleksandar Usyk
This is a round for round breakdown of how I aw the fight;
Round 1: Crawford edges it. stuck to his jabs, stayed mobile, made Canelo miss more.
Round 2: The American continued how he started, Good jabs, decent defense; Canelo tried inside work and body shots but didn’t dominate.
Round 3:Canelo gradually comes into the fight in this round. Some cleaner body shots, cutting off the ring; more engagement.
Round 4:Another round too close to call. Canelo busier in places, especially to the body, but Crawford still sharp with counters and distancing, continuing with his in ring management in the 4th
Round 5:Crawford retakes command of the flow in the fight. More consistent jab work, avoiding big power shots; he seems more comfortable.
Round 6:Close round. Canelo lands some harder shots, especially body work. But Crawford still doing well with counters and defense.
Round 7:Crawford takes it, completely in control here in. His hand speed, defense, ring movement are strong; Canelo tries to force the action, but Bud seems in control.
Round 8:Crawford continues to intentionally win rounds. More clean work from him; Canelo lands some body hooks but overall Bud seems more effective.
Round 9:Crowd reaction strong. Crawford still landing good combinations; Canelo gets some work in but doesn’t seem to shift momentum. Closed by a head clash.
Round 10:Canelo tries hard this round, knowing he is clearly down on the judges scorecard. Lands some harder, more telling punches (body and head), but Crawford still counters well. Observers gave the round to Canelo
Round 11:Once again, both men take to the center of the ring and exchange blow after blow. Crawford planting his feet looking for the 1-2 combination, managing to rock Canelo. However, it was Crawford who finished the round well doubling up his shots – getting the fans on their feet, clearly impressed with the boxing prowess of Bud
Round 12: Both men throwing everything they have at each other. Canelo looking and landing the left hook to the body before being caught by Crawford. A nice uppercut from the Mexican followed by a 1-2 combination excited the cround but Crawford managed to land a wonderful right hand straight onto Canelo’s chin before later catching him with an uppercut.
In the end the judges give it to Terrence Bud Crawford (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) who was clearly the better boxer on the night, he becomes the first man in history to be undisputed in 3 weight divisions, I see a trilogy in this contest but I fear it would only get better for Bud who completely, outfought, outthought and out boxed against Canelo
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