A Virtuoso Performance
An edited version of this article was published on TheFightCity.com on July 29th, 2023: https://www.thefightcity.com/spence-vs-crawford-virtuoso-performance-boxing/
When the chips are down, great fighters step up and do great things. In the biggest fight of his life, in front of an electrified crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Terence Crawford showed up and produced a masterclass performance that will define his legacy. On paper, the Spence-Crawford superfight looked like a 50/50 contest. But in the event, Crawford proved to be a level above, completely dominating his rival and winning by ninth-round stoppage, to become the undisputed welterweight champion.
Spence vs Crawford: The “IT” Factor
This article was published on TheFightCity.com on July 27th, 2023: https://www.thefightcity.com/finally-spence-vs-crawford-preview-boxing/
It’s taken almost five years, but the superfight we’ve been yearning for is finally here. Saturday sees two of boxing’s finest practitioners square off in a showdown that will crown an undisputed, undefeated welterweight champion. Errol “The Truth” Spence, 28-0 with 22 KOs, brings the IBF, WBC and WBA belts to the table, while Terence “Bud” Crawford, 39-0 with 30 KOs and already a former undisputed champ at 140lbs, brings the WBO strap. The best fighting the best; all the belts on the line. It really doesn’t get any better than this.
Fight Report: Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire II
An edited version of this article was published on TheFightCity.com on June 7th, 2022: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-inoue-vs-donaire-ii-boxing/
Recent months have seen the debate over boxing’s pound-for-pound best blown wide open. Whatever your opinion on the value of such lists, the fact that a good case can be made for several fighters to occupy the top spot of the rankings is surely a testament to the current health of the sport. And one thing is for certain: any discussion of boxing’s elite that does not include Naoya Inoue should not be taken seriously.
Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: Fight Report
An edited version of this article was originally published on TheFightCity.com on 18th July, 2021: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-charlo-vs-castano-boxing/
Undisputed champions are a rarity in boxing, and the feat is only getting harder to accomplish with the proliferation of titles. After Bernard Hopkins became the first man to unify boxing’s “Big Four” sanctioning belts in 2004 and Jermain Taylor’s brief stint following Hopkins, we had to wait 12 long years before another fighter achieved the same status. Since 2017 we’ve been treated to a relative deluge of four-belt mega fights though, as first Terence Crawford, then Oleksandr Usyk, Teofimo Lopez (the WBC Franchise nonsense notwithstanding), and Josh Taylor were each crowned as undisputed kings of their division.
“Who’s The Champ?” Well, That Depends…
An edited version of this article, with the title “Undisputed Chaos”, was published on TheFightCity.com website on September 25th, 2017: https://www.thefightcity.com/undisputed-chaos-title-belts-boxing/
This past weekend witnessed a special event in boxing, as WBO/WBC 140lbs belt-holder Terrence Crawford swept aside IBF/WBA ruler Julius Indongo to become just the third man in history to unify boxing’s “Big Four” sanctioning belts. With each of the four governing bodies naming a minimum of one titlist across seventeen weight categories – not to mention various pointless distinctions between “super”, “regular”, “interim”, “diamond” and “emeritus” champions – the anointment of a truly undisputed king, albeit in a single division, provides a welcome reprieve from boxing’s messy landscape. Read more
Matt O'Brien
Boxing Philosophy 