Terence Crawford showed once again why he’s considered among the best boxers pound for pound as he defeated Jeff Horn by ninth-round TKO to become the new WBO welterweight champion.
On Saturday night in front of 8,112 fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas NV, Terence “Bud” Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs) defeated Jeff Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) by ninth-round TKO to become the new WBO welterweight champion.
The victory marked Crawford third title and three different weight classes as he’s already been a champion at lightweight and junior welterweight. He’s just the sixth boxer to achieve this feat joining Floyd Mayweather Jr, Adrien Broner, Oscar De La Hoya, Pernell Whitaker and Barney Ross.
He once again showed why he and WBA lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko are considered the two best fighters pound-for-pound in the sport.
The fight was one-sided from the opening bell as Crawford’s speed and skill advantages were on full display. He landed a hard left hand that stunned Horn the first few seconds into the fight and he continued to beat Horn to the punch throughout the fight.
He hurt Horn badly in the closing seconds of round eight as he landed hard right hooks and straight lefts that nearly dropped Horn as the bell sounded to end the round. The bell would only delay the inevitable for a few minutes.
TKO in the 9th for @budcrawford402 ? pic.twitter.com/ZKKbzmJKpy
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2018
In round nine Crawford came on strong and battered Horn once again as he landed two right hooks followed by a left that forced him to touch his gloves to the canvas for a knockdown. When the fight resumed Crawford was all over him throwing combinations forcing referee Robert Byrd to call a halt to the fight with 28 seconds remaining in the round.
Punch stats show how dominant Crawford was. He landed 155 of 367 punches (42 percent), while Horn landed just 58 of 257 (23 percent).
After the fight, Crawford’s promoter Bob Arum gave Crawford high praise and compared him to a boxing legend.
“His future is unlimited. He’s a terrific fighter. It’s the highest praise I can give a fighter, a welterweight, that he reminds me of Sugar Ray Leonard,” said Arum, who promoted several Leonard fights. “That to me is a great, great compliment because I always thought Leonard was the best, and this guy is equal or better than Ray.”
After the fight, Crawford expressed interest in fighting IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence, but network issues and Arum’s history of issues with Spence’s manager Al Haymon make that fight hard to make. Despite those very issues, Crawford is hopeful the fight can be made.
“I just think businesswise it has to make sense,” Crawford said. “Al isn’t going to send his fighters to ESPN if it doesn’t make sense, and Bob isn’t going to send me to Showtime if it doesn’t make sense. If the fight makes sense, the fight will happen. I’ve already fought two Al Haymon fighters, so I don’t think that will stop a fight from getting done. … It’s boxing, so anything can happen. A lot of people are leaning towards me and Errol Spence, but we never know what tomorrow holds.”
If the fight between Crawford and Spence can be made, it will be one of the biggest welterweight showdowns in the last 25 years. Question is will Arum and Haymon make it happen.
