Terence Crawford puts on boxing masterclass to beat Canelo Alvarez |

Today at 08:11 -

Terence Crawford goes by "Bud" but he may soon need to change that nickname to GOAT.

The undefeated Nebraska native put on yet another boxing masterclass but this time facing his toughest and biggest test to date against Canelo Alvarez in an epic showdown on Saturday from Las Vegas.

It was a technical and tactical display from Crawford as he stared down Canelo and repeatedly blasted him with better combinations. Even in the moments when Canelo managed to land a big punch, Crawford was more than ready to meet him with blistering speed and unreal accuracy in the most crucial moments of the fight.

When it was over, the judges scored the fight 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 with Crawford securing the unanimous decision victory. The win also makes Crawford the first fighter in history to become an undisputed champion in three different weight classes after taking Canelo's super middleweight titles.   

"I told ya'll, I'm not here by a coincident," Crawford said after the win. "God blessed me. It's not my fault, it's God's. Canelo's a great champion. I've got to take my hat off to him. He's a strong competitor. I'm a big fan of Canelo and he fought like a champion today."

While the fight obviously didn't go his way, Canelo offered no excuses for the loss and instead gave credit to Crawford on a job well done.

"I feel great. I'm a winner for being here," Canelo said. "There's no defeat here. The fact that I'm here makes me already a winner. I take risks. Like I said to him, I feel great to share the ring with great fighters like him. If we do it again, it's going to be great. I'm glad to share the ring with great fighters. I already accomplished a lot in boxing.

"I insist on taking risks because I love boxing. I feel great. I feel strong. Crawford is a great fighter, a skilled fighter. I give credit to Crawford."

Like so many boxing matches, the scorecards didn't necessarily dictate how the fight played out with most believing that Crawford easily secured the victory across the 12-rounds he spent in the ring with Canelo

In the early going, Crawford was the more active fighter, throwing combinations and showing off his speed advantage with quick combinations. Canelo seemed focused on doing damage to the body, although he was spending more time on his backfoot than initially expected as the bigger, stronger fighter.

Crawford was leading with a stiff jab that was consistently landing on Canelo's chin as he showed no fear stepping into the pocket and trading during the exchanges. In the moments when Canelo would show a burst of energy, Crawford was doing a good job of sticking and moving before firing back with his own punches.

It wasn't until the fourth round when Canelo seemingly woke up and really got going as he cracked Crawford with a couple of stiff straight right hands down the middle. In return, Crawford smiled and came right back out him but didn't allow Canelo to draw him into an ugly slugfest.

When Canelo started getting busier, he was connecting with solid punches and it was bothering Crawford. But that forced a reset from Crawford as he blasted Canelo with a huge counter left hand that caught him flush as he was moving forward.

Crawford's movement was also starting to frustrate Canelo as he stabbed at him with a lead left jab and then followed with a hard right hand behind it. As time passed, Canelo looked to close the distance and do damage from the inside but Crawford showed solid defense before firing back with his own rapid-fire combinations.

Canelo seemed resigned to throwing power punches, especially focusing on his body work with Crawford circling away and peppering away but not doing as much damage.

The start of the eighth round saw Crawford fire out of his corner like a bull as he came charging at Canelo and unleashed some vicious punches. Crawford was really packing on the punishment and a clinch against the ropes finally broke the action after an accidental head clash caused a small cut.

Canelo apologized for the error but Crawford was quick to get back to work including a nasty left hand that landed clean. A four-punch combination from Crawford greeted Canelo to start the tenth as the fighters were jockeying for position and both trying to secure the victory.

With the fight potentially slipping away from him, Canelo got busier and Crawford made him pay with several nasty uppercuts on the inside. The punches were snapping Canelo's head back and Crawford followed up with a right jab that also landed clean.

As the final round got started, Canelo came forward with more aggression, perhaps knowing the scorecards were not in his favor but Crawford was giving as good as he was getting. That's when Crawford unleashed a hard counter left that popped Canelo and he effectively turned away in anger.

That was really the story of the fight with Crawford avoiding any real danger and then picking and choosing his shots to frustrate Canelo at every turn.  Crawford showed why he's not only the best boxer of this generation but perhaps one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of gloves.

The win moved him to a remarkable 42-0 during his career but Crawford wasn't ready to say if Saturday would serve as his final appearance in the ring.

"I don't know," Crawford said when asked about retirement. "I've got to sit down with my team and we're going to talk about it."

More than anything, Crawford just wanted to praise the crowd, the promotion and his opponent for putting on a card of this magnitude.

"I just like to say, thank you," Crawford said. "Thank you to all the supporters. Thank you to all the haters. We made this a great event. Shout out to everyone that came to support Canelo. I'm happy that he gets to make to his children and I get to make it home to my children."