Terence Crawford simply enjoys living in the moment. At times, he does kick his feet up and reminisces about how far he’s come in his career. As the now 35-year-old strolls through his palatial estate, he trips over the countless world titles that are littered in just about every room.
In addition to the proliferation of championship trinkets in Crawford’s collection, the pound-for-pound star has netted a number of big-time victories. On paper, triumphs against Yuriorkis Gamboa, Shawn Porter, and Kell Brook figure to be his most notable. However, those aforementioned names didn’t come to mind when Crawford was recently asked to reveal his shining moment in the ring. Instead, the Omaha, Nebraska native points to one particular instance that took place nearly a decade ago when he was forced to march into enemy territory.
“For me, the greatest fight of my career was against Ricky Burns,” said Crawford on Sway’s Universe.
On March 1st, 2014, a wide-eyed baby-faced Crawford keenly accepted the opportunity to take on then, WBO lightweight titleholder, Ricky Burns. Although he has ultimately gone on to put together the sort of career that will eventually land him in the Hall of Fame, Crawford’s ascent to the top of the pugilistic mountain started on that unforgettable night. As he sauntered through the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, Crawford ignored the long line of perpetual trash talkers that roared in his direction during his ring walk.
Determined to truncate Burns’ title reign and begin his own, Crawford fought flawlessly, winning a fairly wide decision on the night. Since then, his world titles and accolades have been stacked to the ceiling. And, on July 29th, Crawford will have a shot at adding even more to his resume.
At the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Crawford will be just one win away from becoming a two-time undisputed champion when he faces Errol Spence Jr. Still, even if Crawford walks away with the victory and no matter how many weight classes and champions he goes on to conquer, Crawford will unambiguously view his win over Burns as his crowning achievement.
“That’s where my real, true dreams came true. That one night.”