Terence Crawford Dominates Errol Spence Jr. in Decisive Welterweight Title Unification
On Saturday night in Las Vegas, Terence Crawford cemented his place as one of the greatest welterweights in history with a dominant performance against Errol Spence Jr. The highly anticipated fight, which was the most-anticipated boxing match in several years, ended in a technical knockout victory for Crawford at 2:32 of the ninth round.
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) entered the fight as the WBO champion and left as the undisputed 147-pound king, adding the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles to his collection. The Omaha, Nebraska native knocked down Spence (28-1) three times before the bout was stopped, extending his knockout streak to 11 fights.
“I only dreamed of being a world champion,” Crawford said. “I’m an over-achiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer.”
The fight night on the Las Vegas Strip drew a star-studded crowd, including recording artist Andre 3000, NBA star Damian Lillard, and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Former champions such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Manny Pacquiao were also in attendance.
Spence, the aggressor early on, was sent to the canvas by a right hand from Crawford in the second round. The champion then took control of the fight, landing several powerful blows and knocking Spence down twice more in the seventh round.
“He was just better tonight,” Spence said. “I make no excuses. He was throwing a harder jab. He was timing with his jab, and he had his timing down on point.”
Crawford wasted no time gloating after the victory, responding to his critics who doubted his ability to defeat the top welterweights. Meanwhile, Spence expressed interest in a rematch, though he plans to move up to the 154-pound division.
The card also featured a split-decision win for Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz over Giovanni Cabrera in a WBC and WBA lightweight match, as well as Alexandro Santiago’s victory over Nonito Donaire to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight title.
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