Terence Crawford: The most significant win in boxing history?

This may be a big statement, but I feel Terence Crawford’s win over Canelo Alvarez last Saturday night is the most significant single win in boxing history. Throw another at me, and I’d be happy to debate or be proved wrong. I hate in this day and age when I see social media feeds talking about the greatest fighters or fights and they act like boxing didn’t exist before Mike Tyson.

I, however, love boxing history, and I’m going back to Gene Tunney defeating Jack Dempsey, Henry Armstrong becoming a 3-weight champion, beating Barney Ross, and then Lou Ambers. Still, in racking my brain and going back almost a century, I can’t see past what Terence Crawford has just done. My number 1 fighter of all time is Sugar Ray Robinson, but even he fell short when attempting light heavyweight greatness, losing to Joey Maxim (heat exhaustion). Crawford’s achievement over the weekend is simply incredible.

Including Crawford’s win last night, I’m going to discuss my five best wins from fighters moving up two weight divisions and ultimately what this victory means for Crawford’s legacy.

Top 5

First, I will give a couple of honourable mentions for those who didn’t quite make the list. Oscar De La Hoya may have been a shot fighter when he faced Manny Pacquiao, but the ease with which the Filipino fighter dispatched Oscar with speed and angles was jaw-dropping. It cemented him as a superstar, bypassing the 140lb division to face a legend.

Adrien Broner also skipped 140lbs when he faced Paulie Malignaggi to take his title via split decision. A good win, but in fairness, when Broner fought proper natural welterweights, he struggled.

#5: Bernard Hopkins 46-4-1 v Antonio Tarver 24-3 on 10th October 2006

Bernard Hopkins seemed like he was going to spend his career as a middleweight champion after making 20 defences of his belts before losing them to Jermaine Taylor. Bernard, well into his 40s by this point, decided to skip 168 pounds and go straight to Antonio Tarver at light heavyweight.

Tarver was on a good run, having beaten Roy Jones twice and securing a rematch win over Glen Johnson. It seemed a tough ask, but ‘The Executioner’ won nearly every round. Bernard went on to defy the odds for several years to come.

#4: Roy Jones Jnr 47-1 v John Ruiz 34-4-1 on 1st March 2003

Perhaps this should be higher. It felt really significant at the time. Roy was the P4P number 1, and it looked like he would face undefeated Dariusz Michalchewski to become undisputed or possibly move up to Cruiserweight to face Vassily Jurov.

Roy was going for legacy, though, and bypassed the then 190lb division to face WBA champion John Ruiz. Someone so small becoming a heavyweight champion seemed unthinkable. If Roy had challenged and beaten Lennox Lewis, it would probably be number 1. Moving up two divisions to heavyweight isn’t just that; the guy you’re facing could still be 50lbs heavier than you.

The other champions at the time were Chris Byrd (IBF) and the late Corrie Sanders (WBO). In fairness, John Ruiz was no joke. He had come off the back of a trilogy against Evander Holyfield (win, loss, draw) and just defeated the talented Kirk Johnson. Ruiz was hard to look good against: tough, rugged, strong, and powerful.

Ruiz tried to rush him, but Roy took control from round 3. It was a truly epic performance, and at 33 years old, he could have retired as one of the greatest ever. Unfortunately, Roy was still boxing 20 years later, but nobody can take away what he achieved that day.

#3: Shane Mosley 34-0 v Oscar De La Hoya 32-1 on 17th June 2000

At this point, Sugar and Goldenboy were considered top P4P fighters, but Shane was a lightweight, with Oscar a welterweight. De La Hoya had only lost once, controversially to Felix Trinidad, with most feeling he had done enough to win. This is a fight I would recommend anyone to watch.

High-level technical chess match with the right amount of action. At this point, Shane looked unbeatable and without a doubt pound for pound number #1. Unfortunately, he was not as successful when he came up against the late Vernan Forrest, losing back-to-back contests, although he still went on to have a stellar career.

#2: Ray Leonard 33-1 v Marvin Hagler 62-2-2 on 6th April 1987

This really is the only win that comes close to what Crawford did on Saturday. Hagler’s record is remarkably similar to that of Canelo’s. Marvelous seemed unbeatable, mean, strong, powerful, WAR.

Leonard was a welterweight and hadn’t fought in 3 years. In his last outing, he looked extremely underwhelming against Kevin Howard, hitting the deck and looking easy to punch. Many feel Hagler won this fight, but having watched it so many times, he just started too slow and picked the wrong stance. Sugar Ray cemented himself as a top 10 fighter of all time with this victory.

#1: Terence Crawford 41-0 v Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 63-2-2 on 13th September 2025

Seeing as Crawford had only fought once at 154 pounds, one could argue that he has essentially moved up three divisions. Unlike when Broner or Jones moved up, taking on lesser champions, Crawford fought the man.

Even Canelo himself, when he moved up, took on a declining Kovalev rather than Bivol or Beterbiev. People really need to understand that what Crawford did shouldn’t be possible. Yes, Canelo might be in decline, but he has still defeated three unbeaten boxers in his last three bouts.

He’s been much more active than Crawford, with the American turning 38 this month. When Bud beat Errol Spence, I thought that was it, the legacy win, top 25 of all time, one of the best of his era. The idea of him topping that fighting Canelo seemed absurd, but he did it, and he’s done it. For me, this puts him in the top 5 of all time and in the conversation for the best ever. It’s time he got his respect.

Epilogue: I must take a moment to pay my respects to Ricky Hatton. I met him at the Scott Harrison v Wayne McCullough fight alongside other late great Johnny Tapia. Ricky was so generous with his time; he will truly be remembered as a man of the people, more than a boxer. Seeing him beat Tszyu live was the greatest atmosphere I’ve ever been to. An entire City and Nation were behind him and threw every punch with him. He will be sorely missed, a true legend.