Skip to main content

Crawford unifies welterweight division with ninth-round TKO over Spence

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The fight itself didn’t match the hype, but Terence Crawford’s performance exceeded it.

He knocked down Errol Spence Jr. three times Saturday night before finally ending the fight at 2:32 of the ninth round on a technical knockout to cement himself as one of the greatest welterweights in history.

The fight, the most-anticipated boxing match in several years, made Crawford the first undisputed champion in the 147-pound division in the four-belt era that began in 2004.

Crawford (40-0, 31 knockouts) already owned the WBO belt, and took the WBC, WBA and IBF titles from Spence (28-1). Crawford also ran his KO streak to 11 matches, the second-longest active stretch.

Crawford, 35, has won titles at super lightweight and lightweight in addition to welterweight, capturing the latter after moving up in 2018. The Omaha, Nebraska, fighter became the first male boxer to become the undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.

“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. I want to thank Spence and his team because without him none of this would have been possible.”

A big fight night on the Strip still brings out the stars, with recording artist Andre 3000 of Outkast, NBA star Damian Lillard and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at T-Mobile Arena. They were among the celebrities that also included former boxing champions such as Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Eminem introduced Crawford and his song “Lose Yourself” played as he walked into the ring before a sellout crowd of 19,990 at T-Mobile Arena.

Spence was the aggressor early on, but Crawford sent him to the floorwith a right hand with 20 seconds left in the second round. Then Crawford went after Spence, but time ran out before he could finish him off.

Crawford, a minus-154 favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, then took control of the fight, landing several major blows, often on counters. But Crawford also picked his spots to go after Spence, his punching power taking a heavy toll.

“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.”

In the seventh round, Crawford knocked down Spence twice — with a short right at 1:02 and with another right with just a second left.

The fight was essentially over at that point, though Crawford backed off in the eighth round. He came roaring back in the ninth to end it for sure.

Crawford didn’t waste the chance to gloat afterward, directly responding to his critics.

“They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights,” Crawford said. “I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is. Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.”

Spence, however, said he would be up for a rematch, but wants to move up to the 154-pound division.

“We’ve got to do it again,” Spence said. “I would be a lot better.”

Crawford said he would have no problem moving up a weight class.

“I’m in the hurt business,” Crawford said. “Forty-seven is kind of hard for me, too. I was already talking about moving up in weight and challenging (champion Jermell) Charlo.”

The 33-year-old Spence, who lives in DeSoto, Texas, won the IBF title in 2017, claimed the WBC championship in 2019 and took the WBA championship last year.

In the co-main event, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (25-2-1) of Mexico beat Chicago resident Giovanni Cabrera (21-1) by split decision in a WBC and WBA lightweight match. Judges Benoit Roussel (114-113) and Don Trella (115-112) scored the fight in favor of Cruz, and Glenn Feldman gave Cabrera the fight by a 114-113 score. Cruz had a point deducted because of a head butt.

Also, Alexandro Santiago (28-3-5) of Mexico won the vacant WBC bantamweight title with a 115-113, 116-112, 116-12 decision over Nonito Donaire (42-8), who lives in Las Vegas.



from Sportsnet.ca https://ift.tt/4B1WKoe
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ailing Pope Francis to embark on Asia trip, his longest ever, in September

Pope Francis will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from September 2-13, the Vatican said on Friday, announcing his first overseas trip of the year and the longest of his 11-year papacy. The Asia trip has been on the papal agenda for some time, but there had been doubts on whether the 87-year-old pontiff would embark on it given his increasing frailty, with a record of skipping engagements due to health problems. His last international journey was a two-day stay in Marseille, France in September. In November, he pulled out of a trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai because of a lung inflammation . Francis is now scheduled to be in Jakarta between Sept 3-6, Port Moresby and Vanimo between Sept 6-9, Dili September. 9-11 and Singapore Sept 11-13, his spokesman said in a statement. Vietnam, which had been suggested by the pope and Vatican officials as a possible further destination during the nearly two-week long Asia trip, was not mentioned. In ...
Post a Comment
Read more

AI deepfakes: The latest weapon in Pakistan’s disinfo wars

I have spent the past few weeks staring at what seem to be digital ghosts; they look human, speak the way we do, and cause anger and despair. But they are not real. They are machines wearing human skin. Something is shifting in Pakistan’s social media landscape. It is not merely a rumour. It is not the old cycle of misinformation. It feels darker. Artificial intelligence is reshaping reality frame by frame until the internet resembles a hall of mirrors. For me, it began on November 8, when an account called ‘PakVocals’ posted a video on X that claimed to show journalist Benazir Shah dancing in a nightclub. The caption was cruel. It tried to mock her by using derogatory comments against her professional credibility. At the time of writing this piece, that video had garnered more than half a million views. It did exactly what it was designed to do: turn a journalist into a target. Mission accomplished! To most viewers, the clip probably passed as real, but for me, something felt off....
Post a Comment
Read more

India raises retail fuel prices for first time since Mideast war began

India’s state-run fuel retailers have raised petrol and diesel prices for the first time in four years by 3 Indian rupees ($0.03) per litre, or more than three per cent, according to dealers, to recoup some of the losses incurred due to higher global crude oil prices. India — the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer — is one of the last major economies to raise retail fuel prices following the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz by the war started by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. State-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp, which together control more than 90pc of India’s 103,000 fuel stations, tend to set diesel and petrol prices in tandem. A BPCL spokesperson confirmed the price increase at its retail outlets. Indian Oil and HPCL did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Diesel in Delhi will cost 90.67 Indian rupees a litre and petrol 97.77 Indian rupees, reflecting increases of 3.4pc and 3.2pc, respectively, ...
Post a Comment
Read more