Terence Crawford completely dismantled a fellow great with a stunning KO, against a fighter who he went on to name as his ‘toughest opponent’.
Crawford has fought some huge names in the sport during his meteoric rise to become a pound-for-pound great, including Errol Spence, Amir Khan and Jeff Horn.
Top RankCrawford dropped his feared rival three times before the final blow[/caption]
But despite reigning as undisputed champion at two weights, one of his biggest statements came 10 years ago in a huge battle with highly talented Cuban Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Gamboa was undefeated with 23 wins at the time and had turned professional having won a gold medal the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
It was Crawford’s maiden defence of his WBO lightweight world title, and began at a ferocious pace with the Cuban on top in the early rounds.
The American switched to the southpaw stance and after a tough start, he began to reverse the momentum in the fourth period.
His breakthrough came in the fifth round as he dropped Gamboa for the first of four times, and his rival survived but was on wobbly legs.
Crawford scored another knockdown of the Cuban in the eighth with a brutal combination, but the resillient challenger battled on.
Although it was just a matter of time as the domination paid off in the ninth, as ‘Bud’ dropped his opponent for a third time.
But the curtain-closing moment came when he was briefly hurt by a response shot from Gamboa who desperately tried to fight back.
Crawford floored him with a ferocious uppercut as the lively exchange saw Gamboa on the canvas again, and this time the referee halted the contest.
When assessing that famous night in August 2023, Crawford named Gamboa as his toughest career challenge given his comparisons to boxing legend Floyd Mayweather.
Top RankCrawford showed his class and detonated the game-changing shot[/caption]
He told Joe Rogan last year: “I would say Gamboa, because of the experience at the time.
“You have got to understand, I came from fighting six-round fights to a ten-round fight on HBO when I got the Breidis Prescott fight.
“So then I fight him, another guy for the Interim NABO, and then I fight for a title eliminator Klimov.
“Then I fight Ricky Burns, and come back and fight Gamboa when I become champion.
“Gamoba was labelled as the next Floyd Mayweather. He was on the pound-for-pound list.
“Everybody had Gamboa at a high rating. Olympic Gold Medal. He had the experience over me, and I learned a lot in that fight.
Ryan Hafey/PBCCrawford battered rival Spence last year in a huge statemenmt[/caption]
“That’s what made it hard because it was something I’d never experienced in a fighter before.”
It was a turning point in Crawford’s career as his name burst to fame, and his trajectory continued as after three more defences before moving to super-lightweight.
There he beat Henry Lundy to become a two-weight world champion in February 2016 before unifying the the division with a win over Viktor Postol five months later.
He went on to become undisputed champion in the super-lightweight division, ousting Julius Indongo in a huge KO to cement his legacy in August 2017.
Immediately after, Crawford made another huge step to pound-for-pound domination as he won a title belt in a third category with a WBO world title win over Jeff Horn in June 2018.
Having defended his belt against some huge names including Kell Brook and Khan, Crawford’s crowning moment came in his undisputed 147lbs showdown with Spence.
The July 2023 clash ended in the best possible way for Crawford, who scored a dominant stoppage win of his bitter rival to end the boxing world’s debate once and for all.
Crawford has continued his dominance as he next move up to 154lbs looking to become the sport’s latest four-weight world champion.
And he did so against a rugged operator in Israil Madrimov, who he edged in a thrilling chess match in September 2024.
Despite now having conquered four weight classes, ‘Bud’ is not done yet.
He has signed a deal for a huge mega-fight with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez which is set to take place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in September.
Victory for Crawford could see him become undisputed champion at 168lbs against the odds, providing all the belts are on the line if Alvarez first beats Scull.
It is a history-defining moment for Crawford if he can dethrone the Mexican.
He believes it will see him ranked as a pound-for-pound great not only right now, but in the history books.
