TERENCE CRAWFORD broke down in tears after stunning Canelo Alvarez – after dispelling boxing’s oldest adage.
Crawford proved the good biggun’ does not in fact always beat the good littlun’ as he secured a unanimous points win over Canelo.
Terence Crawford beat Canelo Alvarez[/caption]
He was emotional after the victory[/caption]
It crowned him the undisputed super-middleweight world king with world titles now won in FIVE weight classes.
He also became the only man in boxing history to become a three-weight undisputed champ.
He said: “I’m not here by coincidence. Canelo is a great champion, I have to take my hat off to him, he’s a great competitor and I have great respect for him. He fought like a champion.”
Over 70,000 packed into the Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium – with the majority in support of Canelo.
Crawford – boxing’s greatest switch-hitter – came out as a southpaw in the opening round – and stayed like that the entire bout.
Canelo, 35, threatened with a left hook to the body and sweeping right hooks over the top – testing the temperature.
Crawford, 37, did respond with a sharp combination landing with a left hook but it did little to damage the bigger champion.
The American caught Canelo with a sharp flurry to open the second round and remind him of the speed advantage.
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Canelo looked to land to the body but Crawford was quick to counter with straight shots in response.
The pace of the action dipped in the third, with Crawford able to counter off Canelo’s left hook to the body, a sequence that became predictable so early on.
Crawford landed a beautiful combo in the fourth – leaving Canelo frustrated and chasing down the challenger.
But the elusive Omaha native was able to get on his bike and evade and danger – baring a straight right hand he ate as the round closed out.
Canelo pulled off an excellent display of hit and move in the fifth, landing a right hand and rolling underneath the follow up.
The four-division champion from Guadalajara showed more frustration as he picked Crawford up and almost chucked him over the ropes.
Crawford had him where he wanted him.
He landed a smart flurry in the sixth before ducking under the returning right hand from Canelo.
Both had moments of swinging and missing at the turn of the half way mark – drawing smiles from the pair.
Canelo invested heavily in body early on in the fight[/caption]
Terence Crawford stepped up two weight divisions to challenge Canelo Alvarez for all the super-middleweight marbles[/caption]
The Mexican mauler struggled to cleanly land his overhand right throughout the stanza[/caption]
But there was nothing to laugh about when the two started the seventh standing toe-to-toe – blow-for-blow.
Canelo landed some heavy body shots and evaded the counter coming back – showing glimpses of his vintage self.
And it came at a period when he needed to claw back some momentum.
Crawford threw a bunch of hooks to the body in round eight but Canelo tucked up, shook his head, and marched forward.
Following an uneventful rounds, the crowd erupted in the ninth as the two sat in the pocket and traded, causing a worrying clash of heads.
But the round ended with BOOS as the crowd turned on the two superstars in the ring after a period of little action.
There was little to separate in the tenth as Canelo walked Crawford down landing the odd big shot but took a combination in response.
Canelo went looking for the right hand[/caption]
The left hand was landing for Crawford[/caption]
As Canelo waded forward in the 11th round, he walked into a beautiful southpaw left uppercut – one of the punches of the fight.
Canelo hit back with a big right of his own but Crawford answered with a three-piece to assert his dominance.
With Alvarez a Vegas favourite – Crawford knew he needed to win the 12th and final round to secure the victory.
There was a worrying lack of urgency for Canelo, who seemed untroubled by the fact his undisputed titles were slipping away.
Crawford got the final say with a pair of sweeping left hooks to close out what was a stunning performance at the 70,000-seat Allegiant Stadium.
And it confirmed his win – sparking his emotional reaction when the result was read out.
Crawford was probed on whether he will fight again – but he could not answer.
He said: “I don’t know, I got to sit down with my team and we’ll talk about it.
“I want to say thank you to all the supporters and the haters. I appreciate you all.
“Shout out to my fans and those supporting Canelo. We get to go home to our children.”
Canelo looked a defeated man[/caption]
