Terence Crawford demonstrated Saturday night (July 29) why he has garnered heavy respect in the welterweight division after defeating Errol Spence Jr. in a unification bout. In the win, Terence Crawford became the first undisputed welterweight champion of the world since 1986.
In front of a sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., Terence Crawford and Errol Spence finally got their moment after negotiations stalled late last year for a unification match. The long-awaited match didn’t have the explosive back-and-forth fight fans expected but highlighted why Crawford is considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport today.
Spence opened the fight in his usual fashion but from there, Crawford delivered crushing blows, flooring Spence in Round 2 and again in Round 7. Spence was never able to mount an offensive and each time he tried, Crawford was there to stop him.
In Round 9, Spence, already looking worse for wear, stopped throwing punches and Crawford unloaded big shots but the referee saw enough and stopped the match.
“Like I said before, I only dreamed of being a world champion,” said Crawford after the match as reported by ESPN. “I’m an overachiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer.”
Crawford walked to the ring with Eminem, who performed his massive hit “Lose Yourself” for the crowd. The tone was set early as the champion was beyond focused on his goal.
After the match, Spence congratulated his opponent and hoped they could run it back again. The pair also showed massive respect for one another in a moment of class from both fighters.
On X (formerly known as Twitter), fight fans reacted to Terence Crawford stopping Errol Spence Jr. in Las Vegas. Check out those reactions below.
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Photo: Getty