Terence Crawford blitzed Errol Spence to claim all the titles at welterweight in a blockbuster main event in Las Vegas on Saturday night. ‘Bud’ produced a sensational and dominant performance for the ages to make history as the first male fighter in boxing’s four-belt era ever to become an undisputed world champion in two different weight classes.
It was an absolute masterclass from three-division champion Crawford, also previously undisputed at light-welterweight, dropping a stunned Spence to the canvas for the first time at the end of round two and twice more in the seventh before a one-sided beatdown was finally halted by the referee in round nine.
There was also a notable contingent of NBA players, including Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who is currently the subject of extensive trade rumors. Lillard has long been a boxing fanatic and often shares his thoughts about fights on his Twitter feed. Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors was also spotted, as was Dwyane Wade, who is set to enter the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame next month.
From the field of entertainment we had actor Tracy Morgan and musicians Chance the Rapper and Chris Brown. Neither had as big of a stage as Eminem, however. The legendary rapper actually led Crawford's walkout, after agreeing to do so on Instagram recently. Crawford walked out to Eminem's "Lose Yourself," though unfortunately the Detroit rapper did not perform the song live, which was a bit of a disappointment.
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 in 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.
On the undercard, Mexican lightweight contender Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz earned a narrow win over Giovanni Cabrera in the co-feature bout. Alexandro Santiago beat the legendary Nonito Donaire to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight title after an explosive early triumph for Cuban prospect Yoenis Tellez, plus initial victories for Steven Nelson and Jose Manuel Salas Reyes.
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