LAS VEGAS -- It's time to have a serious conversation about where Terence Crawford belongs in the conversation of the greatest fighters of all time.
Crawford, 37, thoroughly outclassed Canelo Alvarez, and earned a unanimous decision victory to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. With the win, Crawford enters an exclusive club as the first men's boxer in the four-belt era to earn undisputed status in three weight classes (junior welterweight, welterweight and super middleweight). If he decides to hang up the gloves after Saturday's performance (and who could blame him if he did) he would retire with a 42-0 record with 31 knockouts, a five-division world champion (undisputed in three) and a victory over the man widely considered the face of boxing with relative ease.
This was a far different performance than the one-sided thumping he handed to Errol Spence Jr. in 2023, which was his finest work heading into the Canelo fight. This time, rather than violently dispatching his opponent, Crawford expertly outboxed the Mexican superstar and left him shaking his head in disbelief as the rounds wore on. Although the performance could be compared to the one that Floyd Mayweather delivered to a then-23-year-old Canelo in 2013, Saturday's win may have been more impressive. Crawford confounded his opponent with slick footwork, a steady jab, scintillating combination punching and a sturdy chin.
"I think Crawford is way better than Floyd Mayweather," Canelo said at the postfight news conference. If Mayweather is considered the best of this generation and is set in his place as one of the greatest fighters of all time, what does that mean for Crawford?
He certainly has to be in the conversation after what he did to Canelo.
The fighting pride of Omaha, Nebraska, is the first fighter since Dingaan "The Rose" Thobela to win world titles at lightweight (135 pounds) and super middleweight (168 pounds) and has never had a judge score a fight for his opponent in his 17-year professional career. Mayweather didn't accomplish that feat despite retiring 50-0. But this isn't necessarily about comparing Crawford to Mayweather; it's about comparing Crawford to all of the elite fighters of his generation who reside on or near boxing's Mount Rushmore. If he's not on top, he's right there.
First and foremost, he's a winner. Secondly, he wins in a variety of ways. He can hand out a violent beatdown - as he did against Spence, Amir Khan and Jeff Horn -- or he can outbox the opposition -- as he proved against Canelo and Viktor Postol. There isn't much that he cannot do and he showcased every facet of his game against Canelo. Nothing has stopped him: Not weight, age or skill. He's among the best pound-for-pound fighters we have ever seen.
Crawford wouldn't go as far as to say that he would retire from boxing after Saturday, but there is very little left for him to prove. He has done it all and has left few doubters when it comes to what he can't do. Many thought he was in over his head when he entered the ring against a backdrop of voracious boos from a largely pro-Canelo contingency, and left with four more belts as Canelo and his fans shook their heads in disbelief.
"I'm not going to rub it in everyone's face," Crawford told ESPN at the postfight news conference before pointing at his belts. "I have all the proof I need right here on this table."
Who dares to deny him now?