History In The Making: Terence “Bud” Crawford 

Months turned into weeks, and weeks have transitioned into days, and now the wait is almost over, as the undisputed super-middleweight world champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is set to defend his crown against the undefeated challenger Terence “Bud” Crawford.

Alvarez and Crawford are two highly skilled boxers whose names have been fixtures atop the pound-for-pound list. This highly anticipated undisputed world title bout is set to take place on Saturday night, September 13th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, airing live on Netflix.

Approximately two years ago, the then 36-year-old Terence Crawford stated he wasn’t interested in pursuing a fight against Canelo Alvarez. At the time, Crawford said his age and having to move up multiple weight classes were the reasons why the fight didn’t interest him.

At that particular time when Crawford made the statement, he was already known as one of the best boxers in the world. Crawford was an undefeated multi-division world champion who built an impressive legacy.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Terence Crawford made his professional boxing debut back in March 2008 when he stopped Brian Cummings in the 1st round. After reeling off 22 additional victories, Crawford was in line to fight for championship gold.

Back in March 2014, Crawford traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, and defeated Ricky Burns by way of unanimous decision. With the victory, Terence Crawford won the WBO lightweight world title.

After two successful title defenses, Terence Crawford moved up, defeated Thomas Dulorme via sixth-round TKO, and won the vacant WBO junior-welterweight world title. A year later, Crawford became a unified champion when he outpointed Viktor Postol and won the vacant WBC strap.

Crawford would go on to conquer the 140-pound division when he stopped the WBA/IBF champion Julius Indongo in the third round. Within a two-year period, Crawford collected all four belts and earned the distinction of being the undisputed junior-welterweight world champion.

After becoming undisputed, Crawford moved up, stopped Jeff Horn in the 9th round, and won the WBO world welterweight title. Crawford proceeded to defend his title and defeat notable opponents such as Amir Khan, Kell Brook, and Shawn Porter.

Next on Crawford’s agenda was participating in a mega fight that was five years in the making. On July 29, 2023, Terence Crawford stepped inside the squared circle to face the then-unbeaten WBA, WBC, IBF welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr.

The highly anticipated fight of the year made a quick transition into a one-sided affair. Crawford knocked Spence down once in the second and twice in the seventh round. Crawford was dominating the 9th round until the referee stepped in and put a halt to the contest.

As a result of dismantling his rival, Terence Crawford became a two-weight undisputed world champion. A couple of months after the Spence fight, Crawford was asked about a possible super fight with Canelo, and he verbalized his disinterest due to the weight factor.

After attending the Canelo vs Munguia fight and watching Canelo perform live, Crawford had a change of heart. Now Terence “Bud” Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs)  is ready to face the biggest challenge of his career.

Terence Crawford is the prime example of a certified ring technician. He is a switch-hitter who has all the tools. With that being said, the three assets Crawford possesses that set him apart from others are his level of timing, accuracy, and ring IQ.

Crawford switched gears in regards to fighting Canelo because after viewing a Canelo fight live, he saw some things that made him believe he could win. After watching Canelo vs Munguia, Crawford felt that if it were him inside the ring, he would have taken advantage of multiple opportunities.

On Saturday night, September 13th, Terence “Bud” Crawford will get his chance to capitalize on those opportunities. If Crawford is able to effectively use his skill set, control distance, and box on the outside, he will defeat the face of boxing and make history by becoming a three-division undisputed world champion.