T-MOBILE ARENA, LAS VEGAS — He said it was the “Terence Crawford Era.” And he proved it with one of the most dominant performances of his stellar career.
Not only can Terence Crawford call himself undisputed for a second time and in another weight class, but he is now approaching all-time status with a brutal exhibition of power and poise that has sent shockwaves through the boxing world.
“Like I said before, I only dreamed of being a world champion,” Crawford said. “I’m an over-achiever. Nobody believed in me when I was coming up, but I made everybody a believer.”
In front of a star-studded crowd of 19,990, he long-anticipated showdown between Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. ended up being a brutal domination as Crawford knocked Spence down multiple times and finished the fight in dominant fashion with a 9th-round TKO.
Crawford becomes the first fighter in the four-belt era to become undisputed at welterweight and is the first male fighter to become undisputed in two different weight classes in an absolutely spectacular performance that likely unseats Naoya Inoue as the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
“It means everything because of who I took the belts from,” Crawford said. “They tried to blackball me. They kept me out. They talked bad about me. They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights.
“I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is. Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.”
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) came into the fight as the WBO champion and had stopped all seven opponents he faced since moving up to welterweight from junior welterweight in 2018. Many expected Spence to be his toughest test to date. But it wasn’t even close.
“He was just better tonight,” said Spence. “He was using the jab. My timing was a little bit off. He was just the better man tonight.”
After entering alongside hip hop superstar Eminem with “Lose Yourself” blaring from the arena speakers with a litany of celebrities in the crowd, the fighter from Omaha did anything but lose himself in the atmosphere of a big fight. Instead, he turned in what may be the best performance of his career.
Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) tried to use his powerful jab to set the tone but Crawford was fully prepared for the pressure that his rival expected to come with. In the second round, Spence was caught in between punches by a Crawford counter and sent to the canvas for the first time in his career.
And it was all downhill from there.
Crawford routinely rattled Spence with power shots and counters as the crowd roared at deafening levels throughout the fight. It only got worse as the rounds wore on for Spence. He tried to settle into his gameplan of applying pressure but Crawford was having none of it.
Crawford dropped Spence again twice in round seven and it was all-but over. With celebrities such as Chris Brown, Damian Lillard, Shannon Sharpe, Chance the Rapper and others pulling their phones out to capture the finish, Crawford took his time and tortured Spence with potshots.
Spence valiantly attempted to fight back but was torn apart by another combination that sent him reeling across the ring. A bevy of power shots followed and caused the referee stoppage.
“Strap Season” was over and there would be “Smoking Bud” on this night. Spence suggested that he would activate his rematch clause but with such a one-sided fight, it’ll be difficult to see that ending any differently.
For now, there is only one champion at 147 pounds and his name is Terence “Bud” Crawford.
The Sporting News was following the megafight live in Las Vegas below. Here is how it all went down.
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford results, highlights
Round Nine: Spence is a beaten man. Crawford potshotting him. He’s torturing Spence in there. Nasty work. Spence launches a 6 punch combination. Nothing. Crawford cracks Spence and has his feet unsteady. Here we go. Spence showing heart but there’s nothing that Bud is worries about. Big combination! Left! Right! and it’s OVER!!!!!!!!
SN Unofficial Scorecard:
Round Eight: Crawford rolls forward in the 8th. He smells the blood in the water. The crowd is smelling it too. Bud marching him down as Spence tries to fend him off with the jab. Phones are out as they anticipate another storm from Bud. Bud with a combination and a shove. He’s broken Spence. Unreal. Bud is blitzing Spence again. Rocks him with a right hand. Combination. Spence fires back. There’s nothing there. Bud is just waiting for his time to finish.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Crawford (79-70 Crawford)
Round Seven: Spence lands a hook and Crawford ripes him up with a combination. Everything Bud lands is moving Spence all over the ring. Short left from Spence lands and Crawford sends him to the canvas again! Bud is looking for the finish. He’s clobbering Spence with everything he has. Spence trying to fight back but the avalanche is coming. Bud cracks Spence again with a combination. He’s not taking these punches well at all. The end could be near. Huge right hand sinks Spence again at the end of the round.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-7 Crawford (69-61 Crawford)
Round Six: Crawford opens the sixth round whipping power shots. Spence is roaring forward but Bud is defending everything. Spence with a combination and Bud slaps him with a left and right. Bud pulls and fires, Spence eats another knuckle sandwich. Spence working on the inside. Bud looks insanely strong in there tonight. Big combination by Crawford lands again. Spence having a good round but Crawford’s power is undeniable.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Crawford (59-54 Crawford)
Round Five: Bud with a combination that rips up Spence. Punches are coming from everywhere. Spence digging to the body. Crawford is at ease and sees everything in slow motion. Crawford with wicked power shots on Spence. This is a stunning performance. Crawford with a hook to the body and whips to the head. Spence gets smacked with a short right. Spence with a huge overhand right and Bud doesn’t move.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Crawford (49-45 Crawford)
Round Four: Crawford lands a pair of left hands. Spence trying to muscle forward. Crawford goes to work. Spence gets on the inside and lands to the body and head. Uppercut from Spence lands clean. Crawford with a combination. Big overland left from Bud hurts Spence. Here he comes! He’s all over Spence. Spence backs him off with a jab. They exchange hooks. Bud is STRONG. Hard right hand from Bud moves Spence back. Crawford is advancing on Spence now. He’s starting to takeover this fight in a big way.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Crawford (39-36 Crawford)
Round Three: Spence comes right at Crawford and lands a big shot. Left hand from Spence. Big right hand from Spence and a firefight is breaking out. Spence banging on Crawford. Spence misses a combination. Crawford roars back with one of his own. Spence working the body. Spence to the body again and Crawford lands a hard one two. They are fighting fighting. Crawford with a big body head combination and Spence lands a left hook. Crawford with a hard jab.
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Crawford (29-27 Crawford)
Round Two: Spence jabbing and puts a left hand behind it that lands. Body work from Spence on the inside. Crawford fires a combination but only one shot lands. Looping left from Spence and he’s banging on Crawford’s gloves. Long jab to the body from Crawford but Spence returns fire immediately. Crawford barely misses a hook but lands a lead right. Crawford with a combination. It’s heating up. Crawford with a combination and down goes Spence!!! Spence is up. and Crawford is on the attack! Big left hand rocks Spence as the round comes to a close!!!
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-8 Crawford (19-18 Crawford)
Round One: Spence shooting the jab to find range. Crawford barely misses a right hand. Spence to the body with a jab. Right to the body by Spence and Bud ties him up. Hard left to the body by Spence. Spence applying a lot of pressure. More jabs. Crawford lands a left hand. Active round for Spence. Crawford a slow starter. No surprise. 10-9 Spence
SN Unofficial Scorecard: 10-9 Spence
11:16 p.m. ET: It’s time for the main event. And from here on out, it’ll be round by round updates for Spence and Crawford. Are you ready?
Isaac Cruz takes split decision stinker over Giovanni Cabrera
11:03 p.m. ET: I don’t know how, but this fight has managed to end up as a split decision for Cruz. One judge managed to give the fight to Cabrera with a 114-113 score. Thank goodness for the other two judges who had it 114-113 and 115-112. It would have been a travesty if the scorecards were for Cabrera. Hopefully, this is not a bad omen heading into the main event.
11:00 p.m. ET: It wasn’t great but Isaac Cruz is likely going to take a wide decision over Cabrera. It was ugly at times and Cabrera being undefeated heading into this fight is pretty astonishing. But it’s over and the energy in the arena is beginning to swell. It’s almost time.
10:51 p.m. ET: Entering the 11th round, Cabrera’s chin is still holding up. He’s avoided some of the bigger shots from Cruz, who is still looking for the home run. It’s not a pretty fight by any means but Cruz is comfortably ahead despite being docked a point earlier in the bout.
10:32 p.m. ET: It took a few rounds but Isaac Cruz is finding Cabrera’s chin with regularity as we move to the seventh round. “Pitbull” is finding the target with hooks as Cabrera has given up his space. The way this is going, it may not be much longer for Cruz to secure the stoppage.
10:18 p.m. ET: Well, Cabrera isn’t fighting a great fight as he keeps his hands low, chin high and is just circling the ring. It’s only a matter of time before Cruz catches him. Meanwhile, celebrities like Andre 3000, Chris Brown, E-40, Damian Lillard and others are taking their seats in the arena.
10:03 p.m. ET: Up next is Isaac Cruz (24-2-1, 17 KOs) vs. Giovanni Cabrera (21-0, 7 KOs) in a WBA lightweight title eliminator. Waka Flocka Flame just walked out Cabrera while Cruz has entered with a Mariachi band. Cruz is targeting a rematch with Gervonta Davis but will need to turn back Freddie Roach’s upstart in Cabrera.
Santiago turns back Donaire for WBC bantamweight title
9:47 p.m. ET: Alexandro Santiago is the new WBC bantamweight champion as he won a decision that might have been scored a little closer than anticipated with scores of 115-113, 116-112 & 116-112. Nevertheless, the right man won and Santiago has defeated his idol to take home championship gold. As for Donaire, he says it’s not time to retire just yet and will go back to the drawing board.
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 30, 2023
9:34 p.m. ET: It’s not looking good for Nonito Donaire. After ten rounds it has been Santiago outworking the 40-year-old throughout. It looks like Father Time is finally catching up to Donaire as he is unable to get his shots off and has continuously found himself a few steps behind. It’s very likely that he’s going to need a knockout to pull this off.
9:03 p.m. ET: Up now is the ageless wonder, Nonito Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs), as he looks to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight championship against Alexandro Santiago (27-3-5, 14 KOs). Should the 40-year-old Donaire pull this off, he would break his own record as the oldest bantamweight champion in boxing history.
Tellez stops Garcia in the third
8:36 p.m. ET: Yoenis Tellez set the tone for the night by scoring a third-round knockout over Sergio Garcia to improve to 6-0. The first knockdown came courtesy of a blistering right hand that badly hurt Garcia and was followed by another crushing right that put him on the canvas. Garcia was clearly in bad shape and could not defend himself from the violent assault that followed, giving Tellez the stoppage at the 2:02 mark.
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 30, 2023
8:18 p.m. ET: We are live! The undefeated Yoenis Tellez (5-0, 4 KOs) taking on veteran Sergio Garcia (34-2 14 KOs) in super welterweight action will kick things off on the PPV.
When is Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford?
Region
Date
Main Card Start Time
Main Event Ring Walks (approx.)
USA and Canada (ET)
Saturday, July 29
8 p.m. ET
11:30 p.m. ET
USA and Canada (PT)
Saturday, July 29
5 p.m. PT
8:30 p.m. PT
UK and Ireland
Sunday, July 30
1 a.m. BST
4:30 a.m. BST
Australia
Sunday, July 30
10 a.m. AEST
1:30 p.m. AEST
MORE: How to bet Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford
How to watch Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford
Region
TV channel
Live streaming
USA
Showtime PPV
PPV.com
Canada
—
PPV.com
UK and Ireland
—
TNT Sports
Australia
—
Main Event on Kayo
The fight will air via Showtime PPV in the U.S. You can stream on Showtime via Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Xbox ONE, your laptop, and any mobile or tablet device.
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford PPV price: How much does the fight cost?
$84.95 in the US, on Showtime PPV.
£19.95 in the UK, on TNT Sports PPV.
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford full card
Terence Crawford def. Errol Spence Jr via 9th round TKO (2:32) for the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO, and Ring welterweight titles
Isaac Cruz def. Giovanni Cabrera via split decision (114-113, 115-112 & 113-114)
Alexandro Santiago def. Nonito Donaire via. unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112 & 116-112) for the WBC bantamweight title
Yoenis Tellez def. Sergio Garcia via 3rd round TKO (2:02)
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Sporting News – https://www.sportingnews.com/us/boxing/news/errol-spence-jr-vs-terence-crawford-fight-updates-results-highlights/fmtzacvudr3vsxdmukr7s8zh
