World Boxing News places Terence Crawford as the Pound for Pound number one boxer on the planet despite a previous statement to the contrary about Saturday’s fight.
After witnessing Naoya Inoue take apart Stephen Fulton on his debut at 122 pounds, WBN didn’t think any result from Crawford vs Spence could alter the top spot.
We were wrong.
Terence Crawford is Pound for Pound King
Crawford’s one-sided demolition of a three-belt ruler to become a two-weight undisputed champion is totally undeniable as a feat.
Nobody predicted pre-fight that the scenario that unfolded was even possible. Therefore, “Bud” is out on his own as P4P champion despite a consideration for joint number one.
The undefeated three-division champion emphatically stamped his place in the history books with a ninth-round TKO over the previously unbeaten Spence Jr.
In the process, the Omaham man becomes the first undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt era.
In addition to ripping the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles from Spence and placing them with his WBO belt, Crawford became the first male fighter to become an undisputed champion in two weight classes.
The 40-0 star previously won all four belts at 140 pounds.
Spence had already been down three times. But Crawford’s ninth-round onslaught of hooks forced referee Harvey Dock to wave off the action 2:32 in the frame.
After years of build-up, Spence came out aggressively in the opening round, jabbing and attacking Crawford’s body.
Crawford fought as a southpaw
Crawford, known for fighting from both the southpaw and orthodox stances, fought primarily as a southpaw. He scored his first knockdown in round two with a powerful right cross. It caught Spence off balance and sent him down for the first time in his career.
Spence came out in round three, determined to turn the tide after the knockdown. He desperately threw big shots, including a left hook that landed cleanly early.
However, Crawford was able to withstand the attack and showed his precision by landing a clean counter right that again staggered Spence.
In round seven, Crawford dropped Spence twice, once with a clean right uppercut early on and again late in the round with a right hook.
Crawford led 79-70 on all three cards at the time of the stoppage and dominated the CompuBox stats with a 185 to 96 advantage in punches landed and an astounding 50% connect rate.
For now, Inoue must be content with the number two spot. Oleksandr Usyk drops to three.
WBN Pound for Pound Top 5 – July 2023
1 Terence CRAWFORD – Welter
2 Naoya INOU – Super Bantam
3 Oleksandr USYK – Heavy
4 CANELO Alvarez – Super Middle
5 Dmitry BIVOL – Light Heavy
Crawford vs Spence topped the SHOWTIME PPV main event Saturday night from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
