Terence Crawford isn’t messing around

IN what will go down as one of the defining performances of his career, Terence Crawford became undisputed super-lightweight champion by knocking out Julius Indongo inside three rounds.

Not only did the unbeaten Omaha native become menโ€™s boxingโ€™s first four-belt holder since 2005, he wrecked an undefeated opponent who many felt would give him at least some problems. Indongo was no pushover โ€“ he had dethroned both Eduard Troyanovsky and Ricky Burns, both on away turf. The ease with which Crawford despatched of him is what marks this out as a special win.

The body shot he finished Indongo with was, quite literally, breath-taking and few though โ€˜Budโ€™ would notch such an early and emphatic win against a fellow unified champion.

Now, many are dubbing the American as Andre Wardโ€™s closest rival for the pound-for-pound throne. He is one of boxing’s most active elite-level fighters and if he moves to 147lbs and wreaks havoc there, he could soon depose Ward.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk is on the title charge

On the Crawford-Indongo undercard, unbeaten light-heavyweight contender Oleksandr Gvozdyk continued his route to a title shot as he stopped Craig Baker in six rounds.

Though Baker was a step down for the Ukrainian, the win provided Gvozdyk with needed exposure and kept him active as he attempts to close down on a mandated shot at division leader and unified champion Andre Ward.

It was not Gvozdykโ€™s most impressive or explosive win โ€“ he seemed to take his time โ€“ but another stoppage win wonโ€™t hurt and he is highly ranked by several organisations.

Weโ€™ll soon see the true extent of Anthony Joshuaโ€™s star power

WITH Wladimir Klitschkoโ€™s retirement, unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua must now look elsewhere for an opponent. The unbeaten Londoner admits than he is โ€œdisappointedโ€ about Klitschko hanging them up instead of facing him in a rematch.

A return, potentially in Las Vegas, would have been huge. Now, Joshua is looking at a lesser event โ€“ though it will still be a very big one, given his star power in the UK. He is one of this countryโ€™s biggest sport stars, and he hopes to fight at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff later this year.

His opponent looks set to be IBF mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev โ€“ an excellent challenge for Joshua, but the Bulgarian is virtually unknown to the more casual fans who flock to Joshua fights. Such a contest should show us just how popular Joshua is โ€“ thereโ€™s every chance he could sell out the Principality against a fighter with a very low profile.