It took nine rounds for the world to recognize that Terence “Bud” Crawford is what his opponent’s nickname was, “The Truth.” In front of a sold-out crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Crawford knocked down Spence three times throughout the fight, bloodied and battered him, showing that he could outclass the bigger fighter with the legendary work rate.
Spence met the canvas first in Round 2 and then was stunned again twice in Round 7, sending him to the mat and Terence Crawford into the history books as a two-time undisputed world champion. Crawford accomplished something in his perfect career that even Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Manny Pacquiao couldn’t do: gain the IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound titles to accompany his WBO belt.
Undisputed
“Like I said before, I only dreamed of being a world champion,” Crawford said in his ring interview. “I’m an overachiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer. And I want to thank Spence and his team, like I told him, because without him none of this would be possible for me.”
The 35-year-old Crawford finished the fight in Round 9, effectively countering Spence’s offense and catching him in spots he couldn’t readily see until referee Harvey Dock stopped the blitzkrieg at the 2 minutes and 32 seconds mark. Crawford is now the first undisputed 147-pound champion in the four-belt era.
“It means everything because of who I took the belts from,” Crawford said. “They tried to blackball me, they kept me out, they kept me out. They talked bad about me, they said I wasn’t good enough, that I couldn’t beat these top welterweights, and I just kept my head to the sky and I kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world who Terence Crawford is. And tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.”
What’s Next?
Spence made no excuses but did say he would exercise the rematch clause but at the higher weight class of 154 pounds.
“He was the better man tonight,” Spence said in the post-fight interview. “He was using his jab, and my timing was a little bit off. He was catching me in between shots. He was just better tonight. I make no excuses.”
Terence Crawford has proven all he doubters wrong and cemented Omaha, Nebraska, on boxing’s map. Salute to the new king.
