Terence Crawford has shared the ring with some massive punchers, but none of them cracked as hard as Yuriorkis Gamboa.

Crawford squared off against Gamboa in June 2014 at the Century Link Center in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

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Crawford is ranked No.3 in the pound-for-pound rankings[/caption]

It marked his defence of the WBO lightweight title he had snatched from Ricky Burns in Glasgow three months prior.

On paper, it was his toughest test to date.

Gamboa was a 2004 Athens Olympic gold medallist and undefeated former IBF featherweight champion.

From the off, the Cuban’s pedigree shone through as he got the better of Crawford for the first four rounds with superior speed and movement.

The tables turned in the fifth frame when ‘Bud’ sent Gamboa tumbling to the canvas courtesy of a sharp lead hook.

From there, Crawford took control of the contest as he dropped Gamboa three more times en route to the eventual ninth-round knockout.

Crawford may have cleaned him out in the end, but Gamboa earned the two-weight undisputed champion’s respect in defeat.

“[Egidijus Kavaliauskas] was the strongest, he was the strongest puncher,” Crawford told Ring Champs with Ak & Barak.

“But I still have to say Gamboa, he caught me with the hardest punch.

“Yeah, [he was fast], he caught me with the hardest punch.”

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Crawford knocked out Gamboa in 2014[/caption]

It wasn’t just his power that earned him plaudits from Crawford, he also earned the distinction of being the Omaha puncher’s hardest opponent.

During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast last year, Crawford said: “I would say Gamboa [was my toughest opponent], 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, [Andrey] Klimov.

“Then I fight Ricky Burns, and come back and fight Gamboa when I become champion.

“Gamboa was labelled as the next Floyd Mayweather. He was on the pound-for-pound list.

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Crawford retained his WBO lightweight title and went on to become an all-time great[/caption]

“Everybody had Gamboa at a high rating. Olympic Gold Medal. He had the experience over me, and I learned a lot in that fight.

“That’s what made it hard because it was something I’d never experienced in a fighter before.”

While Crawford has gone on to become one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet with wins over Errol Spence Jr., Amir Khan and Julius Indongo, Gamboa’s career has tailed off since their fight in 2017.

The Cuban is currently riding a three-fight skid against Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, and Isaac Cruz.

He hasn’t officially retired at the time of writing, although his last fight took place in April 2022.