It was a fight night like never before on Saturday in Las Vegas. Allegiant Stadium played host to one of the biggest and most anticipated bouts in boxing history, as undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez battled undefeated Terrance “Bud” Crawford; Crawford moving up two weight divisions for a monumental super-fight.
The “once-in-a-lifetime” event, aired on Netflix, served as a debut in the boxing realm for Saudi Arabia General Authority Chairman Turki Alalshikh and sports entertainment company TKO, as part of their plan to stabilize the sport with their own promotion. With an endless number of stars in the building and housing over 70,000 people, it’d be hard to say their first go-round wasn’t an enormous success. It will be interesting to see how they continue to enact their plan moving forward.
All eyes were on the main event heading in, but that’s not to dismiss the rest of the main card, which delivered a slew of good action despite no fighter being able to score a finish. Undefeated prospect Mohammad Alakel and Travis Crawford opened things up. In the lead-up, Crawford announced he would be retiring following the bout, hanging up his gloves at the young age of 22. Whether this played a factor in his performance is unclear; nonetheless, Alakel was the better man on the night, scoring the win by unanimous decision. What followed was a barnburner in the super middleweight division between Christian Mbili and Lester Martinez. Both walked in unbeaten in their boxing career, and they were bound to do whatever it took to keep their record unblemished. A knock-down, drag-out brawl saw both men receive their first blemish, with the fight ending in a split decision draw. Standing ovations rained down for an incredible fight.
In the co-main event, another pair of undefeated fighters entered the ring, as Irish standout Callum “King” Walsh faced off against Fernando Vargas Jr., the son of former world champion “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas. Walsh was on Vargas from the first bell, relentlessly swinging away for all ten rounds. Vargas would find some openings in the later rounds, but his stagnant offensive pursuit throughout allowed “King” Walsh’s pressure and cardio to be the difference when it came down to the scorecards. 700 punches later, Callum Walsh kept his spotless record intact, improving to 15-0.
Now, onto what everyone has been waiting for, the main event of the evening. After all the extravagant entrances and introductions, Canelo Alvarez and Terrance Crawford finally locked horns just before it hit 1:00 am on the East Coast. Both fighters came out of the box slowly, not willing to let loose just yet. Crawford moved well around the ring, while Canelo mixed up his shots to keep him at range for his power strikes. Even early. Round 3 is where the action began to pick up.
Terrance Crawford’s versatility as a striker began to shine through, catching Canelo with shots upstairs and to the body, building a rhythm. That’s when Alvarez began to push forward, using his powerful right hand to his advantage, though Crawford continued to land with counters. The middle rounds are where “Bud” grabbed control of the bout, connecting with a huge left hook in the sixth and stifling Canelo’s ability to land to the head, forcing him to stick to body shots.
Canelo continued to struggle getting through Crawford’s guard, as Crawford began his own attack on the body in the eighth round. Both men traded blows to the midsection, though Canelo’s seemed to land with more power, understandable considering the weight disparity. As fights go longer, the better Canelo Alvarez gets; however, “Bud” was ready for the pressure coming his direction. Crawford’s combination of activity, defense, and counterstriking paved the way for him to maintain control of the fight in the final rounds.
The edge-of-your-seat contest went to the scorecards, where legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer named Terrance “Bud” Crawford the winner by unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113). Crawford remains unbeaten in his boxing career at 42-0, defeating an all-time great of the sport to become the first man in the four-belt era of boxing to hold undisputed titles in three different weight classes. Canelo is now without a championship belt for the first time in over a decade, leaving his future up in the air.
A historic night of boxing capped off with a historic outcome that saw Terrance “Bud” Crawford defy the odds and slay Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas to wrap more gold around his waist. Where the boxing scene under the TKO banner goes from here remains a mystery, with no follow-up event scheduled, as of this writing. With that, another mystery remains: who can stop Terrance Crawford?
