Terence Crawford made history on Saturday night in Las Vegas, outpointing Canelo Álvarez by unanimous decision to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion of the world. Before a record crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium, the 37-year-old Crawford moved up two weight classes to hand the Mexican superstar only the third defeat of his career. The judges scored it 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113, all for Crawford, who improves to 42-0 with 31 knockouts.
Already the first man of the four-belt era to unify titles in two weight classes, the Nebraskan now adds a third, an achievement without precedent in modern boxing. Having captured world titles in four divisions spanning 135lb to 154, he has now added a fifth at 168. This result elevates him from generational talent into the all-time realm of lionhearted weight-jumpers like Harry Greb, Henry Armstrong, Roberto Durán and Manny Pacquiao.
The opening rounds were a high-level chess match between two master operators. By the middle rounds Crawford was dictating the rhythm, and a turning point came in the sixth when he began standing his ground in exchanges, landing sharp left hands and swelling the area under Álvarez's right eye. Álvarez had his moments, especially to the body, but he never found a second gear. By the ninth round he was visibly frustrated, lunging with single shots while Crawford picked him off with combinations.
“Canelo is a great champion,” Crawford said afterwards. “I’ve got to take my hat off to him. He’s a strong competitor. I’ve got nothing but respect for Canelo.” Asked about his future, he was noncommittal, saying he would sit down with his team. For Álvarez, 35, it was a sobering night; he falls to 63-3-2, his first loss since being outpointed by Dmitry Bivol in 2022.
The scale of the event underlined the achievement. The $2bn Allegiant Stadium had never hosted a fight prior to Saturday night, and the crowd more than doubled the previous Las Vegas record set in 1982. Millions watched on Netflix, which streamed the card at no extra cost. This was also the debut of Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing under TKO Holdings, backed by an investment from Saudi sports magnate Turki al-Sheikh.
