Terence Crawford has hinted he could retire at the summit of boxing after his stunning dismantling of Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas – but the three-weight undisputed king also opened the door to a new challenge at middleweight.
The 37-year-old from Omaha produced a once-in-a-generation performance at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night to dethrone the long-serving super-middleweight champion.
Stepping up three divisions from his natural 147lb class, Crawford boxed rings around his heavier rival to earn a unanimous decision by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.
In the immediate aftermath, Crawford said he would sit down with his team to discuss whether to chase further glory or walk away on top.
‘My gut says I will sit down with my team and maybe I will go down to 160lb,’ he told reporters.
‘There will be excuses from some people, but that’s what happens when you are great and so far ahead of the competition. A lot of fans don’t respect fighters but we put our lives on the line.’
Terence Crawford hinted he could retire at the summit of boxing after his stunning dismantling of Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas
The 37-year-old from Omaha produced a once-in-a-generation performance at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night to dethrone the long-serving super-middleweight champion
Crawford added: ‘I won the championship rounds, when he was the champion, I knew I had to close out the show. I can’t get a better ending than that tonight, this is the top of the top.
‘Canelo was the last one, there are no more Canelos. Now I am the Canelo, the face of boxing, the pound-for-pound king. So now we have to see.’
Saturday’s victory sealed Crawford’s place among the all-time greats. Already undisputed at light-welterweight in 2017 and a long-reigning champion at 147lb, he is now the first male boxer in history to claim undisputed titles in three weight classes.
He did so by walking through the shots of a man 14lb heavier on the scales and firing back with rapid combinations that stopped Alvarez in his tracks and knocked him off balance on frequent occasions.
The Mexican had some success in the early rounds, landing chopping blows and combinations, but Crawford’s counters repeatedly picked off those attacks.
Even at the start of the ninth, when both men stood toe-to-toe exchanging vicious punches at centre ring, it was the natural welterweight who got the better of it.
By the championship rounds the result looked beyond doubt, with the two 115-113 tallies flattering to the dethroned champion.
The 37-year-old now has all four belts from super-lightweight, welterweight and super-middleweight and could become the new face of the sport at 160lb.
Crawford explained after his back-foot boxing clinic that he enjoys competing at a bigger weight
Crawford explained after his back-foot boxing clinic that he enjoys competing at a bigger weight. ‘I feel great, anybody can be a nobody,’ he said.
‘People doubted me and said I can’t sell and have no personality, they wrote me off for years but it all was shown tonight. I have always sparred bigger guys, I was always too strong for smaller guys. Fighting at a bigger weight and not having to lose weight helped me tonight.’
