Opinions and Observations: Canelo-Charlo

Let's start at the end, shall we? After Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's domination of Jermell Charlo, Canelo was jubilant during the post-fight interview. "I love boxing so f$&#ing much," the undisputed super middleweight champion shouted, smiling ear to ear. Leading up to Saturday's fight, Canelo had acknowledged slippage in his most recent outings, and he declared that he had rededicated himself to the sport. For this fight he left his comfortable San Diego home base for the mountains near Lake Tahoe and scheduled a 14-week training camp, not the sign of a boxer who is cutting corners.   

The results were striking. It was immediately apparent how much better he looked on his feet. Canelo had a bounce to his step. His footwork wasn't ponderous. And he put together a strong 12 rounds. There was no fade; he didn't look labored. He was focused on the task at hand. He looked like a craftsman who had fallen back in love with his work. 

Canelo lands a left hook to the body
Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime

After losing 10 or 11 of the rounds on Saturday, Charlo didn't seem particularly bothered by his defeat. In his post-fight interview, he talked about how he had been proud of himself, that he dared to be great, that he could move back down to 154 lbs. 

Yet his effort didn't live up to the "Lions Only" moniker that he and his brother had given themselves. Charlo never looked comfortable or confident. He was far more concerned with being evasive in the ring than trying to mount a consistent offense. He got in a sharp left hook every so often, but the commitment to win just wasn't there.  

It was a strange performance from Charlo, who had always fought hard during his tough matchups. Even when things hadn't gone his way in several of his bouts, he had a way of willing himself back into fights. He saved a draw with his late-round rally in the first Brian Castano fight. He had trouble with John Jackson's movement before stopping him. Tony Harrison was having a great second fight until Charlo turned it around with a late-round knockout.  

But against Canelo, Charlo was compliant in his defeat. He capitulated. In watching the fight, I never got the sense that he believed he could win, or even if he couldn't, that he would do his absolute best to try for it. I'm sure being knocked down in the seventh spooked him, but well before that point the fight had failed to be competitive.  

Charlo taking a knee in the seventh
Photo courtesy of Esther Lin

Although there was a significant power gap between the two, which certainly affected Charlo, the most striking difference to me was their respective defenses. While Charlo's defense has always been penetrable, he had almost always been able to get through with his best punches. And yet according to CompuBox, he landed less than 18% of his shots. Canelo essentially doubled Charlo's connect percentage. Although Charlo lacked Canelo's power, Canelo's victory was far more comprehensive than that factor. Charlo didn't even have the tools to land on Canelo on a consistent basis. And considering that Charlo entered the fight as an undisputed champion and one of the elites in the sport, that's quite an alarming piece of evidence. 

Canelo will always be known for his left hook, but I think that his right hook was the best punch of Saturday's fight. Like a surgeon, he was able to place the shot perfectly around Charlo's high guard and land it with thudding power. Charlo never made the defensive adjustment for the punch. The knockdown in the seventh was a direct result of Canelo's success with the right hook. With Charlo against the ropes, Canelo was lining up the right hand, but instead of hooking with it, he shot an overhead right between Charlo's gloves. The shot itself didn't knock Charlo down, but he took a knee to regroup; the punch was that devastating. Ultimately, Charlo's inability to defend the right hand was his single biggest defensive issue (and there were others). Instead of taking away Canelo's straight right or his right hook, Charlo was unable to do either. 

Throughout the rest of the fight Canelo mixed in an array of single shots: jabs, hooks, uppercuts. In the past he had several fights where he became too left hook-happy or was overly reliant on his overhand right. On Saturday, he was able to throw and land his entire arsenal. Although he rarely threw in combination, he offered an unpredictability with his punch selection that kept Charlo unsettled.  

The respective performances from Canelo and Charlo illustrate the importance of intangibles. Canelo fought like he had more to prove on the night. Essentially, it was a guy who wanted to be there against a guy who quickly didn't. Charlo is certainly a much better fighter than he showed on Saturday, but he wasn't interested in finding out what would happen if he really went for it. He's a guy who still has options at 154 and 160 lbs., and he fought like it. While Canelo demonstrated that he was the more skilled fighter in the ring, even that advantage can often be overcome or even challenged by an opponent's desire or will, but Charlo manifested none of that on Saturday.   

Charlo will certainly face another notable opponent in a lower weight class, but he will return to the ring with his reputation diminished. In the biggest moment of his career, Charlo made a deal with himself to survive. That is the opposite of what prizefighting is about. And while I'm sure that the additional zeroes in his bank account will take the sting off his loss, the fans and the boxing industry will remember his poor showing. He had a historic opportunity to cement his legacy, to become an era-defining fighter, and he didn't go for it, deciding instead to be satisfied with his participation trophy.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Canelo-Charlo: Preview and Prediction

When the fight between undisputed super middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) and undisputed 154-lb. king Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) was originally announced, I immediately thought that Charlo had a great chance to spring the upset. Let me be more specific; despite Charlo moving up two divisions, I felt very confident that he would win the fight. But as the days and weeks have passed from that initial feeling, and as Saturday approaches (the fight will be at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas), I have significant concerns about Charlo's chances of winning.  

In Charlo's last fight, the rematch with Brian Castano where Charlo won by 10th-round stoppage, I thought that Jermell had the performance of his career. He had finally put everything together: power, boxing ability, purposeful movement, listening to his coach Derrick James, and not loading up on big punches. That Jermell Charlo was clearly among the top fighters in the world, and I could see him giving Canelo or any elite opponent problems.  

But then I asked myself: Can Charlo sustain this new level or was that performance a peak that was unlikely to be duplicated? And this is one of the central questions in analyzing Canelo-Charlo. If Charlo can summon that degree of perfection again, then I believe that he possesses all the attributes he would need to beat Canelo. But what are the chances of him putting together two perfect performances in a row?  

Canelo (left) and Charlo at the kickoff press conference
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions

In digging into Charlo's ring history, I feel less confident that the version from the second Castano fight will be here to stay. He's struggled against boxers before. He was lucky to escape the first Castano fight with a draw. He lost to Tony Harrison in a competitive fight and Harrison was doing very well in the rematch before Charlo stopped him. He also ate some huge shots against Jeison Rosario before ending that fight. In a concerning performance, he struggled to defeat Austin Trout despite knocking him down twice.  

With the exception of the Castano rematch, Charlo has never strung together a dominant wall-to-wall display in his career against a top opponent and I think that he would need to be close to that level to win a decision over Canelo. I don't think that Charlo will be able to stop Alvarez, who has demonstrated a sterling chin throughout his career, so a points win for Charlo would be a must.  

In almost all his fights with Derrick James, Charlo has been a low-volume power puncher who will give up some rounds looking for the knockout. Again, the second Castano fight was a deviation from this pattern. And maybe he found something new with his last fight, but I'm skeptical that he can maintain a higher-volume style against Canelo. Canelo's a master counterpuncher and the more that opponents open up against him, the more opportunities he has to counter. Thus, I do believe that Charlo, especially after feeling some early counters from Canelo, will not be throwing tons of volume in trying to win the fight. 

And if Saturday's match does settle into a low-volume affair with a couple of decisive power punches a round, then the fight will favor Canelo. Alverez's power shots sparkle; they are easy to see; plus, he will have the crowd with him.  

I also have additional concerns about Charlo's preparation and sharpness for the fight. Derrick James has had an absurdly busy schedule over the summer with his involvement with Errol Spence, Anthony Joshua and Frank Martin. There have been videos circulating of Charlo training with former champion Joan Guzman during this camp. Now Guzman was a terrific fighter and a really sharp boxer at his best, but I think that James' connection with Charlo has been vital in taking Jermell to his current level in the sport. Maybe Guzman is an excellent trainer, but I'm not sure that he can replace the bond that Charlo has with James. Charlo and James will need to be in lockstep to beat Canelo and with James having a broken camp with Charlo, I'm concerned that they might not have the dedicated time needed to cover every base needed for this fight.  

In addition, Charlo will enter Saturday's fight coming off a 16-month layoff, which will be the longest period of inactivity in his career as a champion. Charlo is a rhythm fighter who needs to be on point with his counters and power shots to win rounds. I worry about his ability to be sharp throughout 12 rounds against Canelo without having been in the ring recently. 

Now it's true that Canelo hasn't looked terrific in his recent fights. He had big leads against Gennadiy Golovkin and John Ryder but didn't finish either fight strong. He was also summarily outboxed by Dmitrii Bivol, where he couldn't handle Bivol's length, discipline or footspeed. And while Charlo can certainly box, I don't think that he possesses too many similarities with Bivol, who prefers to go in-and-out hitting singles and doubles, not concerned with knockouts or landing his best power shots. 

In the final analysis for Saturday's fight, I edge the fight to Canelo. I think it will be a battle of intermittent power punches. I think that Canelo hits a little harder, he can take a big shot, and is more comfortable with his style on the big stage. I believe that Charlo at his very best possesses the traits to win, but I'm not sure that he will be on point from the opening bell or have the ability to stick with his game plan for 12 rounds. Ultimately, I think that Canelo will be just a little bit better throughout the fight. Expect some ferocious power punches landed, but also a fair amount of staring in the fight, with many rounds coming down to one or two decisive punches. I think that Canelo would welcome this type of fight and I believe that he will do enough to have his hands raised when the final scores are announced. 

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez defeats Jermell Charlo via decision. Let's call it seven rounds to five or eight rounds to four. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Alex Camponovo: The Journey From Thompson to CBN

When Ken Thompson died earlier this year, the Southern California boxing scene lost one of its beacons. Thompson Boxing Promotions played a vital role in developing SoCal boxing talent over the past 23 years. In addition to cultivating world champions (Tim Bradley and Danny Roman) and contenders (Josesito Lopez, Mauricio Herrera and Juan Carlos Burgos), the company put together one of the best club boxing programs in the United States, utilizing its Inland Empire base of Riverside and San Bernadino Counties to build a consistent following that nurtured fighters and boxing fans in the region. 

A central figure of Thompson Boxing was Alex Camponovo, who was its general manager and matchmaker. Camponovo regarded Ken Thompson as father figure, a man who taught him multitudes about business and how treat people with respect. 

"His legacy is that he always trusted in people," said Camponovo. "He surrounded himself with positive people. He was an ultra-positive guy. He always found a silver lining in everything."  

Thompson left a sterling legacy in the sport: giving fighters a chance, believing in a high-quality product, and willing to take risks to grow. And out of this reservoir of respect for his mentor and business partner, Camponovo understood that the brand of Thompson Boxing would end with the passing of its founder. 

In evaluating his next steps in the sport, Camponovo wanted to build on his experiences with Thompson Boxing while exploring new possibilities for broadcast and distribution. Despite having a successful club boxing program, Thompson Boxing lacked consistent TV distribution for its product. In addition, because of their size, once they had discovered and nurtured fighters who could compete on the world-level, they often lost them to larger promotional companies. 

Image courtesy of CBN Promotions

For his next boxing venture, Camponovo wanted to change the dynamics of his involvement in the sport. The result of his efforts is CBN Sports and Entertainment, Inc. (also known as CBN Promotions), where he has enjoined with new partners to create what he believes will be a larger platform in the Southern California (and global) boxing market. Home base will now be closer to the greater L.A. area, at Infinite Reality Studios (formerly Thunder Studios) in Long Beach, Orange County. 

Their first show will be this Saturday and will feature Rigoberto Hermosillo (13-4) of Los Angeles against Alexis De Luna (10-1) of Bakersfield. Camponovo loves the matchup and believes that it will play great on TV. Oh wait...have I gotten ahead of myself? 

CBN has already secured three television networks to broadcast its fight cards: Fox Espanol, Estrella TV and beIN Sports En Espanol (the latter two will broadcast fights on tape delay). Each broadcast will provide three to four hours of boxing. The series, unlike most Thompson Boxing cards, will take place on Saturdays. 

"The new partnership that has been created," said Camponovo, "will bring not only knowledge on the boxing side, some of the fighters that we've featured before and new ones, but also the production, television and distribution that perhaps we were lacking with Thompson Boxing." 

A key wrinkle of CBN's business strategy is the control of Infinite Reality Studios. One of the founding partners of CBN is Rolando Nichols, who is the president and general manager of the venue. As a result, CBN will have control of the presentation of its product and will not be at the mercy of an external venue. The control of the venue will allow them to create an optimal boxing experience for fans, broadcasters and sponsors. With a fixed venue, they will also be able to set their boxing calendar well in advance, providing the continuity needed to grow their business. 

The Thompson family has graciously supported the new venture and has allowed CBN access to its existing social media networks and other infrastructure assets. CBN's series is branded "New Blood" with "The Tradition Continues" right underneath in its marketing, a mission statement about combining the old and new. 

CBN could have waited longer to get more of its ducks in a row before going forward with its first live card (the company is still shopping for English-language broadcast distribution); however, Camponovo wanted to capitalize on the momentum from Thompson Boxing. He has relationships with scores of boxers in the Southern California market and he knows that many of them need to fight. 

As of this publication, CBN has not signed any boxers to long-term contracts, but Camponovo and his partners, who also include Andrew Bocanegra and Jessie Sanchez (who have previous experience in managing fighters), will be looking for longer-term deals with the right fighters. Saturday's card will feature several fighters who had previously appeared on Thompson Boxing shows. Camponovo is particularly enthusiastic about 8-0 middleweight Nelson Oliva and 6-0 welterweight Juan Sanchez. Both reside in the greater L.A. area and have crowd-pleasing styles. 

Camponovo knows that the Southern California boxing and entertainment market is competitive. There are lots of choices on a Saturday night and if the fights aren't good, the fans will stay away. Part of CBN's mission will be to develop future top-level fighters while providing quality entertainment for fans, broadcasters, sponsors and potential future partners. 

As Camponovo sees it, if CBN has a successful first 12 months, they will promote fighters who will be ranked in the top-15 in the world in their division. The company will also be able to expand their distribution to different countries and languages. 

Although these may be lofty goals for an upstart promoter, don't be quick to dismiss Camponovo. He wants to compete. He has a keen eye for talent. And now he believes that he has the infrastructure in place to be a factor well beyond a couple of counties in California. He's shooting for the upper reaches of the sport. And he's ready to go.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Opinions and Observations: Usyk-Dubois

In an otherwise uneventful heavyweight title defense for Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday, there was a moment of genuine intrigue. After losing the first four rounds, Daniel Dubois connected with a piercing right hand to Usyk's beltline in the beginning of the fifth round that sent Usyk to the canvas. Referee Luis Pabon immediately ruled that the punch was a low blow. Usyk stayed on the canvas withering in pain and Pabon encouraged Usyk to take the allotted five minutes to recover. 

By now the exact location of the punch has been scrutinized from multiple vantage points, and with the accompanying freeze frames and hysterics. In real time, it seemed like a borderline punch to me, the type of shot where I've seen it ruled both ways by referees. It certainly wasn't the most egregious low blow I've ever witnessed, but that's not the point. Was it a foul? It could have been. 

Even if video replay was utilized, I don't believe that it was clear enough to overturn Pabon's ruling. These are the breaks or lack of breaks that occur in every sport. Perhaps with a different referee Dubois gets awarded the knockdown. And maybe Usyk finds a way to get up before the count of ten; maybe he doesn't. Now we're going down the path of hypotheticals that become unknowable. 

Usyk (right) connecting with a left hand
Photo courtesy of Queensberry Promotions

I am no fan of Luis Pabon. In fact, I coined the turn "Paboned" many years ago to indicate how often he has messed things up in the ring. He has bad habits of being arbitrary with his rulings, of making things up as he goes along and losing control of fights. But here, I don't fault his initial decision. 

However, I didn't like how he handled the immediate aftermath. He encouraged Usyk to stay down. Even when Usyk was ready to continue, Pabon delayed restarting the action. And Usyk was of course the house fighter on the night, as well as the heavyweight champion. In real time I felt that Pabon was bending over backwards to give Usyk even more time than was needed to restart the fight. 

Dubois and his team may feel that he was robbed of his opportunity to win the heavyweight championship and if I were representing him, I'm sure I would feel similarly. 

But I am also not going to cry for Daniel Dubois, who only was in this position to fight for a championship because a hometown referee refused to stop his last bout after he went to the canvas three times in the first round, two of which weren't even from a punch, but from his own volition; he was clearly injured. Furthermore, Dubois scored a knockout in that fight well after the bell and yet no replay was used to validate the referee's decision. To my eyes, Dubois lacked legitimacy to even fight for a championship. 

I am also not going to cry for Daniel Dubois because he did so little throughout the rest of Saturday's fight, both before and after that shot in the fifth round. It's no crime to be outboxed by Usyk, and it certainly wasn't for Dubois, who was a significant underdog coming into the fight. But after that moment in the fifth, Usyk was vulnerable. He was still hurting from the body shot. But Dubois didn't really go after him; he didn't try to hunt Usyk down. He let Usyk regain control of the fight with minimal resistance. If Dubois fully believed that he was there to win the heavyweight crown, this was his opportunity with a weakened opponent, and he never got out of second gear. 

By the seventh round, Usyk was so confident in his position in the fight that he was going for the stoppage. By the eighth he dropped Dubois with a two-punch combination where he landed a nasty temple shot. Usyk ended the fight in the ninth with a pulverizing jab. Dubois took a knee and the ref waved the fight off. 

And finally, I will not cry for Daniel Dubois because his whole career has been the product of a promoter who had gamed the system for this world title shot. Dubois somehow was a mandatory contender for Usyk without beating a legitimate top-ten fighter at any point. 

Throughout his career, Dubois has been "positioned" for greatness by Frank Warren without ever having proven it. He was knocked out by the only other top fighter he faced in Joe Joyce and yet somehow he had the opportunity to fight for a world title shot well before Joyce did, despite Warren promoting both fighters.

If you want to accuse Pabon of crimes committed against the sport of boxing for his performance on Saturday, that's fine, but I would argue that the "rise" of Daniel Dubois has been a far worse crime perpetrated on the sport. The trajectory of his career is representative of so much of what is wrong with contemporary boxing. His biggest accomplishment as a fighter is having a savvy operator as a promoter. He had earned nothing. He was maneuvered. He was positioned. But he never had to prove it in the ring against top-level competition. He did not deserve to be in the ring on Saturday for multiple reasons, not just in the lead up to the Usyk fight, but throughout his entire career. And while he is not the only fighter who can be accused of this, it's a stain on the sport.  

Dubois is still only 25, which is a relative baby in the heavyweight division, but he's taken two bad losses. Although he certainly cracks hard enough to have respectable heavyweight power, he doesn't appear to have great punch resistance. And it's also telling that both of his losses have essentially happened because he could not defend the jab, a worrying sign. Although it is always unwise to completely dismiss a heavyweight with a punch, I wouldn't buy too much stock in Dubois' future. 

Warren and his team have already called for an immediate rematch. And instead of using this opportunity to take a step back and work with Dubois to get him to improve in the ring, Warren clearly wants to use the same playbook for Dubois that he employed after the Joyce loss; take the quick money. Perhaps Warren doesn't think Dubois will ever get better than he is. Maybe he's not a huge believer in his future either. 

But it didn't have to be this way. Dubois was never given proper developmental fights. He never had enough real opponents to develop his craft. So maybe now he is just a flawed fighter with a punch, but maybe he could have been much more. And maybe Usyk would have beaten the count on Saturday. We'll just never know.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.  

Opinions and Observations: Spence-Crawford

It was early in the seventh round when I knew that the fight was over. Errol Spence landed a thunderous overhand left, the type of untraditional shot that could cause real damage, and yet it was he who hit the canvas immediately after throwing the punch. Before Spence's shot even landed, Terence Crawford had connected with a perfectly placed counter right uppercut. Spence's shot was eye-catching, but had no lasting impact; Crawford's was destructive and demoralizing. I thought to myself, well, that's a wrap. 

 

If Spence could land his hardest punch, and one that had an element of surprise to it, and yet he suffered because of it, there was little else he could do. Crawford was still opening his bag of tricks as late as the seventh round and despite Spence's attempt at subterfuge, Crawford pounced on this opportunity with a master's eye and execution. He saw the opening and uncorked a wicked counter. He was too sharp, too prepared and hit too hard for Spence. 

Crawford (right) with Spence out of position
Photo courtesy of Ryan Hafey

The theme of Spence-Crawford emerged as early as the second round. Spence would stalk Crawford with pressure, land good shots, but couldn't take what was coming back at him. Crawford exploited holes in Spence's defense. Spence would lunge to get his shots home, he didn't return his hands to a defensively responsible position fast enough, and his feet were often tangled. At the end of the second round Spence landed a lead shot, but Crawford countered with a straight left and then a ramrod right jab to send Spence to the canvas for the first time in his career. This pattern of Spence's good lead work negated and bettered by Crawford's sharper counters manifested throughout the fight. 

 

It was Crawford's counter jab more than any other punch that was the clear separator in the fight. Spence couldn't get out of the way of the jab and it consistently shook him up. Crawford spoke after the fight how he and his team practiced a hard counter jab specifically for Spence and that preparation paid off emphatically in the ring. Spence couldn't handle the punch. The combination of its speed, power and accuracy was too much for him.

 

Crawford knocked down Spence three times and with a different punch for each one: right jab, right uppercut, and right hook. It always impresses me when a fighter can drop guys with multiple punches in a bout. This is a sign of a fighter firing on all cylinders, one who has varied weapons, can see openings, and is executing at a high level. Crawford's right hook has been his bread-and-butter throughout his career, but he didn't even score a knockdown with the shot until the fight was essentially over (the bout was officially stopped by the referee in the ninth round). Crawford was that sharp that he didn't even need to rely on his best punch to dominate an elite fighter. 

 

Spence never stopped trying and again he landed good stuff in the fight, but his power failed to do enough damage. He got home with a number of left hands to the head and hard hooks with both hands to the body. However, Crawford proved to be the sharper puncher, the stronger man, and the one with far superior punch resistance.

 

Saturday was only Spence's second fight in over two-and-a-half years. His reflexes looked off. He didn't have the same sturdy base in his legs that had allowed him to take big shots in the past. These are not excuses for his performance; they in part contributed to it. Spence had several traumatic episodes out of the ring with car accidents and eye issues and although he had performed very well in his last fight against Yordenis Ugas, another long layoff didn't serve him well on Saturday. He looked as if he hadn't had a lot of reps. His hand positioning was a mess on defense. He was overshooting punches in a way that was uncustomary for him. His legs were brittle. 

 

There are of course two people in the ring; Crawford was the one who exposed these issues. It was only because Crawford's counters were so hard and accurate that it became easy to see how Spence couldn't defend himself properly. It's because Crawford's offensive weapons were so sharp and numerous that Spence's scrambled footwork was exploited. Maybe Spence could have beaten other top welterweights on Saturday, but he wasn't anywhere close to Crawford's level. He was outgunned in every facet. 

Crawford celebrating after the victory
Photo courtesy of Esther Lin/Showtime

With the win, Crawford has now become an undisputed champion in his second weight class, a tremendous achievement and one that stamps him as a historically great fighter. But more than the wins, the manner of his performances speaks to his sublime skill level. He's now 35, in his third weight class, and has yet to lose a single scorecard. Whenever his fights have been competitive in the early rounds, he has ended them with knockouts. There are no coin-flip victories on his ledger or debatable decisions. He has left no doubts. 

 

Spence-Crawford resolved the welterweight discussion of this era. There is no more debate. But more than that, it provided the opportunity for one great fighter to rise above another great one. And it gave fans a chance to witness excellence, something magnificent for their era (not their grandfathers'), something that will further bind them to the sport. 

If Crawford is able to accomplish anything else noteworthy in his career, I would consider that gravy. I've already seen enough to comprehend his greatness. I know how special he is and the breadth of his accomplishments speak for themselves. His win on Saturday was one of the most impressive performances I have witnessed in my years following the sport, one that will stick with me. It was my privilege to watch him operate at that rarefied level on Saturday. 

 

"Kids, if you want to see a masterpiece, pull up that Spence-Crawford fight from 2023. Watch greatness in action. That's who Terence Crawford was. And that's why we still talk about him today."

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a contributing writer for Ring Magazine, a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.