TERENCE CRAWFORD broke down in tears after writing his name into the history books with a stunning victory over Canelo Alvarez.
The pride of Omaha took on the face of boxing for all the super-middleweight marbles at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas early on Sunday morning.
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Victory over the Mexican mauler would’ve seen the switch hitter become an undisputed champion in a THIRD weight class.
The odds were well and truly against the 38-year-old as he jumped up TWO weight classes to take on Canelo.
But he well and truly defied them with a stunning display of footwork and ring savvy to win the belts courtesy of a unanimous decision victory.
The judges scored the contest 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of the American.
READ MOE ON CANELO V CRAWFORD
Crawford took the centre of the ring early and threw out several probing jabs to a chorus of “Canelo, Canelo” chants.
Canelo was incredibly economical with his output, opting to throw lots of feints to try to get a read on ‘Bud’.
Canelo drew a big reaction from the crowd with a big left hook to the body, but found himself eating a stiff left hand a few seconds later.
Canelo continued to invest in the body second with rasping left hooks.
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CANELO VS CRAWFORD LIVE: ALL THE LATEST FROM THE FIGHT OF THE CENTURY
Crawford landed a nice check hook as Canelo committed to a stiff straight right to the body.
Crawford landed his wand of a left hand midway through the stanza and came within a whisker of landing a follow-up right hook.
Canelo continued to walk his man down in the third in a bid to land his nuclear right hand.
Crawford did an excellent job evading the head shots, although Canelo continued to have success downstairs.
Crawford exploded into life in the fourth, snapping back the head of the champion with a lightening-fast four-piece combo.
Canelo responded with a big overhand right a few moments later, but Crawford took the shot well.
Crawford had his head snapped back with a big straight right with a minute to go, but didn’t seem bothered by the shot.
Canelo closed the round with a strong straight right which forced Crawford to backpedal before the bell.
Canelo took his foot off the gas in terms of output in the fifth but had continued success to the body.
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Crawford stung Canelo with a huge counter straight left hand early in the sixth as the Guadalajara gladiator tried to close the distance.
The pair decided to bite down on their gumshields early in the seventh and trade heavy, heavy leather in the pocket.
And Crawford showed no fear of the Mexican’s power in tight, although he wisely went back to fighting at range.
Canelo continued to chip away at the body in the eighth but became visibly frustrated at Crawford’s fleet-footedness.
The pair went in the centre of the ring at the start of the ninth, trading hellacious leather.
Crawford was the speedier of the pair in the exchanges, although Canelo did land hard shots of his own.
There was a brief stoppage due to an accidental clash of heads that cut Crawford, but the wound wasn’t bad enough to force a medical intervention.
Crawford showed no signs of fatigue, which many thought would take its toll in the later rounds, as he floated around the ring until the bell.
In a clear acknowledgement that he was losing the fight, Canelo increased the venom of his shots in the tenth.
He landed a good overhand right, but Crawford, as he did throughout the fight, took it well.
Canelo immediately ripped to the body at the start of the eleventh but Crawford responded in kind.
Canelo had his head snapped back by a nice straight left hand on the back of a three-punch combo from the challenger.
Canelo returned the favour a few moments later but was sent backwards by another straight left.
Canelo tried to cut off the ring in the final stanza to set up the big finish he needed to retain the belts.
But Crawford, as he had been throughout the fight, was too elusive to pin down and kept Canelo at range with long and rasping shots.
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