Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk won’t be cage fighting this weekend, so the fight of the year—for now—merely involves two of the biggest names in boxing.
Terence “Bud” Crawford defeated Errol Spence Jr. in the ninth round in a highly anticipated matchup for the undisputed welterweight championship at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The undefeated fighter unified all four welterweight championships for the first time since boxing’s four-belt era started back in 2004, becoming the sport’s first undisputed welterweight king since Zab Judah in 2006.
Crawford (40-0) held the WBO belt, while Spence (28-1), had the WBC, WBA and IBF champ, is a slight underdog entering tonight’s fight. Crawford was a -150 favorite against Spence (+120), according to BetMGM. Each fighter is reportedly expected to make at least $10 million.
One of the reasons Crawford had an edge is his ability to send his opponents to the canvas, ending his previous 10 fights by knockout, the second longest streak in boxing. Spence, though, is a bigger, stronger fighter who knows the magnitude of this fight, labeled one of the sport’s biggest in decades.
“This is going to iconic,” he told reporters. “People are going to talk about this fight 30, 40 years from now when they talk about Ray Leonard-Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler and all those tough fights back then, they going to talk about this fight the same way.”
Spence, 33, was shaking off the rust after fighting just twice since September 2019 for an array of reasons, including a near fatal car crash. Crawford, 35, meanwhile has been far more active, entering the fight after defeating Russian boxer David Avanesyan in six rounds in December.
“I’m ready, he’s ready,” Crawford told reporters. “We’re going to have a fish fry come Saturday. You got to calm down because things can get real sticky really quick, and then people will say, ‘This what we do every time we come out.’”
Boxing fans had been awaiting this match-up, which had been discussed for years. The timing ended up working out for all, as Crawford and Spence are at their peak popularity and look to cash in win or lose. Showtime Boxing is making the most of the moment, rolling out all-access programming ahead of the PPV showdown.
Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (24-2-1) won a split decision in a WBC and WBA lightweight matchup against Giovanni Cabrera (21-0) in the co-main event, setting the stage for the headliner between Spence and Crawford.
(This story was updated throughout to reflect the results.)
