TERENCE CRAWFORD did what many believed was impossible, climbing up two weight divisions to dethrone super-middleweight king Canelo Alvarez in convincing fashion.
Scorecards of 116-112, and 115-113 twice, all swung in his favour, cementing the 37-year-old’s monumental victory at the Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas.
But equally, with the masterful technician becoming a three-division undisputed champion, it could certainly be argued that Crawford, 42-0 (31 KOs), is, in fact, the most complete fighter of his generation.
Crawford opened their fight out of the southpaw stance, displaying sharp enough reflexes to evade most of his opponent’s thudding attacks.
The second round did see Canelo, 63-3-2 (39 KOs), get through with a couple of snappy left hooks to the body, though, while Crawford, marginally the more active fighter, pumped out his right hand and kept his feet dancing.
That same pattern was then maintained in the third round, where Crawford responded with a blistering counter combination as Canelo initiated yet another body attack.
The Mexican then turned his attention upstairs, landing one particularly crunching right hand in the fourth round, while Crawford maintained his lateral movement and delivered several eye-catching flurries.
Canelo, however, only continued to press forward, his aggression becoming increasingly problematic for ‘Bud’ as their absorbing chess match progressed into the middle rounds.
But crucially for Crawford, the sixth frame saw him box seamlessly behind his lead hand, while also sneaking the odd straight left down the pipe.
By this point, too, Crawford was beginning to take control, his expert footwork making it so that Canelo could hardly pin him down.
As if having found his flow state, a particularly comprehensive display in the eighth round then saw the Nebraskan make his opponent miss more regularly, while equally taking the time to stick his tongue out every so often.
An accidental head clash then saw Crawford suffer a small cut in the ninth round, only for him to dominate the rest of the frame and, seemingly, leave Canelo in a state of pure frustration.
Perhaps sensing that he was behind, a more assertive effort in the tenth round then saw Canelo close down the distance, effectively cutting off the ring, while landing his own power shots.
Just as he had done so in the previous rounds, though, Crawford simply dismissed every attack from his opponent, who, while almost searching for a late, and indeed unlikely, finish, appeared to fight with a degree of desperation in the 11th visit.
Crawford then underlined his legacy-defining performance with a tremendous effort in the final round, before dropping to his knees upon hearing confirmation of his remarkable victory.
