Terence Crawford defended his WBO welterweight title and solidified himself as one of the best fighters in the sport pound for pound once again last night.
Going into the bout a lot of tension and bad blood existed between the two boxers with Crawford at one point swinging a bare knuckle punch at Benavidez.
The real fighting last night however saw Crawford have the last laugh in the ring via this sublime piece of work to set up the stoppage in the 12th round:
Terence Crawford stops Jose Benavidez Jr in round 12! #CrawfordBenavidez pic.twitter.com/yrB2Rxy4Gm
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) October 14, 2018
A truly wonderful stoppage and piece of boxing work from Crawford.
The question now moves on to – what’s next?
The welterweight division is a real shark tank of top fighters and while Crawford is one of the best fighters in the world, until both he and Errol Spence fight one suspects that neither will be able to call themselves the best fighter at 147lbs.
The fight could be sometime just yet from happening, too.
Ultimately, both men are still trying to build their stars and followings at the moment and you get the impression that their handlers won’t let the fight happen for a couple of years just yet until it makes maximum financial sense for both parties.
(Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
