Terence Crawford KOs Errol Spence to become undisputed world champion
Terence Crawford produced a virtuoso performance to dominate Errol Spence before stopping his rival in the ninth round to become the undisputed welterweight world champion.
Crawford made a mockery of the pre-fight 'pick-em' nature of a contest which showcased two of the finest fighters of their generation, dropping Spence in the second round and twice in the seventh before the fight was waved off as Crawford became a two-time undisputed ruler.
"I only dreamed of being a world champion, I'm an over-achiever. No-one believed in me coming up but now everyone's a believer," said Crawford. "It means everything because of who I took the belts from. They tried to blackball me, they kept me out, they told me I wasn't good enough but I prayed to God for the chance to show the world how great Terence Crawford is and tonight I showed how great I am."|
Crawford catches Spence on his way to victory (AP)Crawford and Spence were meeting in arguably boxing's biggest fight since Floyd Mayweather outpointed Manny Pacquiao in their much-delayed clash in 2015. Spencer had reigned as a welterweight champion since he stopped Kell Brook at the home of Sheffield United in 2017 while Crawford followed suit a year later when he knocked out Jeff Horn to become a two-division ruler.
Spencer walked to the ring first having lost a coin toss conducted by Mike Tyson during fight week, and Crawford followed, his entourage led by rapper Eminem who had an answered a social-media call to lead out the 35-year-old from Omaha.
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The rivals touched gloves before the first bell with switch-hitting Crawford opting to begin the fight in a southpaw stance. Spence landed the first meaningful shot midway through the session after the pair had felt each other out with their respective jabs.
Crawford dominated Spence throughout the fight (AP)Spence started faster in the second round but Crawford came to life with a three-punch combination as he switched form defence to attack. And he dropped Spence with a straight right hand in the dying seconds of the session but the three-belt champion smiled off the setback and rose to his feet.
Spence looked to make immediate amends as he pinned Crawford into the corner and targeted his body at the start of the third round. Crawford responded with a straight left as he made Spence pay for holding his lead hand low. He followed up with another right hand as his speed and timing continued to cause problems.
Crawford launched into a four-punch salvo at the start of the fourth round, switching from head to body as Spence's face began to mark up. And Crawford could hardly miss as another left hand briefly stopped Spence in his tracks. Even the watching Mayweather must have been impressed by Crawford's performance with the 50-0 megastar joined at ringside by Mike Tyson, Deontay Wilder and Rory McIlroy.
Spence was checked over by the doctor at the start of the fifth round before eating a left-hand counter flush in the opening seconds. Crawford was drawing blood from his great rival but Spence continued to march forward and did land a left hand in the dying embers of the session.
Crawford had amassed a considerable lead by the halfway stage with the only question left seemingly whether Spence would make it to the final bell. And Spence was dropped again in the seventh round, this time from a short, snappy right hook. He recovered again but was dropped for a third time seconds before the bell.
Spence emerged from his corner for the eighth round facing an almost impossible task as Crawford sensed an early night. Another right hand threatened to send Spence back to the canvas but he clung on before trudging back to his concerned coaches. But that would be the last time as another onslaught from Crawford forced the referee to step in and rescue the beaten man.
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Spence, who lost for the first time as a professional, said: "He was the better man on the night, he was using his jab, my timing was off and he was catching me between shots. I was just bad tonight, I make no excuses, he was the better man. He was timing with his jab and he had his timing on point."
Asked if he plans to activate his rematch clause, Spence said: "Hell yeah we're going to do it again. I will be a lot better and it's going to be a lot closer. We're going to do it in December before the end of the year, we've definitely got to do this s*** again." Asked which weight the second instalment would be held at, Spence pitched for it to take place at super-welterweight.
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