Terence Crawford tattered Errol Spence Jr. and secured undisputed welterweight champion status when he dropped the Texan thrice and scored a ninth-round stoppage.
Many boxing luminaries were ringside at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to witness the historic showdown.
Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said the career-long welterweight Spence appeared to have had trouble making the 147-pound weight limit as he prepared for the mega matchup.
“It was a beautiful fight,” Wilder told a group of reporters immediately after. “It seemed like Errol Spence was a little drained tonight, and he couldn’t really do what he needed to do. Bud definitely took advantage of that. He made it look easy. Hats off to Terence, man. He fought a magnificent fight tonight. That’s what it’s all about. He proved that he was the best of them all. The way he did it, he did it with ease and calmness. He looked like he was in another dimension … I really think Errol over dehydrated himself. You could see it in his skin. You can see it in his eyes, and the way he was moving as well. But he fought the fight, and that’s what it’s all about – being strong and going all the way to the end.”
Spence has openly shared that making the welterweight limit has been difficult with each passing fight, and after the one-sided beating, the 33-year-old pleaded for the possible rematch against Crawford to take place at 154 pounds.
Spence can enact the rematch clause within 30 days of the loss, but Crawford will be able to determine the weight for which the sequel will be contested at.
During his post-fight statements, Spence did not make any excuses around the weight and gave Crawdford all the deserving credit.
“He was just better tonight. He was using the jab. My timing was a little bit off. He was just the better man tonight,” said Spence.
“He was just throwing the hard jab. He was timing with his jab. His timing was just on point. I wasn’t surprised by his speed or his accuracy. It was everything I thought.
“We gotta do it again. I’m going to be a lot better. It’ll be a lot closer. It’ll probably be in December and the end of the year. I say we gotta do it again. Hopefully, it will happen 154.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.