By Norm Frauenheim
LAS VEGAS – There was no blood. There were no knockdowns. There was only Terence Crawford.
Crawford’s dance, as brilliant as it was defiant, continued Saturday, reaching a peak few others have achieved or even imagined with an upset of Canelo Alvarez in front of a crowd of 70,482 at Allegiant Stadium.
Crawford, booed when he entered the arena and booed for weeks after the fight was announced, did what he was always done in his historic path to undisputed title in three weight classes.
He did it with his feet, frustrating Canelo at almost every turn in winning a unanimous decision. It was 115-113 on two scorecards and 116-112 on the third. Two of the cards appeared to be closer than what the dominant Crawford did in moving across the ring, in and out of harm’s way and into history.
Canelo always seemed to be a step behind, a dance partner that couldn’t quite keep up with the master.
If there was a surprise, it was in Crawford’s footwork. He moved his feet with an agility not seen in almost a decade. For 12 rounds, the 37-year-old Crawford sustained the dance that earned him the undisputed super-middleweight title and a place among boxing’s all-time greats.
If he had been around in another time, the game would have Five Kings alongside the foursome of Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran.
In his hometown – Omaha, they simply call him Bud. On this night, however, boxing historians could have called him Sugar. He was that good, a former welterweight and junior-welter champion coming up two weight classes to take down Canelo, one of the most feared punchers in his day,
After it was all over, Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs) went to one knee and looked toward Allegiant Stadium’s ceiling as though he was looking to the heavens.
Thanks, he said
The thank-you was preceded by a confident Crawford who opened the fight in the southpaw style. His right hand led the attack and hinted at imminent alterations. But he never switched up, never went from left-handed to right-handed. But the threat was always there, forcing Canelo to be wary.
Above all, Crawford’s two-handed, ambidextrous threat threw some hesitancy, if not outright confusion into Canelo’s tactical plans.
Crawford right hand landed first, followed by a glancing left in the opening round. The crowd roared. Canelo remained cautious.
But in the second round, the popular Mexican hinted, perhaps, at what he had planned. He moved forward, almost stalking and in an almost straight line that led him to his target: Crawford’s midsection.
The body punch landed, forcing Crawford to step to one side and then another. In the third, it began to look as if Crawford was poised to pick up the pace.
In the fourth, he did, landing a couple of quick hands, first a right than a left. Momentum in the fourth, however, suddenly shifted when Canelo landed a straight right hand. Crawford looked at at him and smiled as if to say: You can’t catch me.
Over the next eight rounds, Canelo never could.
Callum Walsh dominates in one-sided decision over Vargas Jr.
Callum Walsh had too much power and too much accuracy.
In the end, he had too much of everything in overwhelming Fernando Vargas, Jr, who has a legendary name but none of his father’s resilient skillset.
On the scorecards, Vargas (17-1, 13 KOs) never had a chance. The judges nearly scored the 10-round junior-middleweight fight as a shutout for Walsh (16-0, 11 KOs), an agile Irishman who knows his way around the ring.
It was 99-91 on two cards and 100-90 on the third in the final fight before the Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez main event at Allegiant Stadium.
Mbilli, Martinez fight to a bruising draw
It was punishing, a fight full of momentum swings and exhausting exchanges of punches that landed everywhere and from all angles. It was hard to pick a winner.
In the end, nobody could..
Christian Mbilli-Lester Martinez was a draw. The good news is that the super-middleweight fight set the stage for a sequel and perhaps a great new rivalry. The only winner was the gathering crowd for the main event, Canelo Alvarez-versus-Terence Crawford. The early undercards didn’t offer much in terms of drama. Allegiant Arena eats were empty. Knockouts were few. Cheers were muted.
Then, Mbilli and Martinez stepped through the ropes.
In the early rounds, it looked as if Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) might win easily. He appeared to have an edge in the number and power of inside punches. In the middle rounds, however, Martinez. (19-01, 16 KOs), showed a stubborn streak and and his own brand of body shots and uppercuts. The Guatemalan wasn’t going anywhere. In the eighth and again ninth, it looked as if the body assault had robbed Mbilli of his energy. He looked fatigued.
In the final moments of the tenth and final round, however, Mbilli recovered, scoring repeatedly and often enough to perhaps ensure a draw. One judge scored it for him, 96-94. One scored it for Martinez, 97-93. On the third, it was a draw, 95-95
Can’t wait for the rematchThe punishing fight ended with exchanges of punches and moment
Mohammed Alakel wins unanimous decision
Saudi junior-lightweight Mohammed Alakel (5-0, 1 KO) employed faster hands and feet, scoring quickly and repeatedly for a unanimous decision overTravis Crawford (7-4) a hard working fighter from (7-4-1) from Corpus Christi, TX in the first fight on the Netflix part of a card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium Saturday.
Brandon Adams wins rematch, scores decision over Bohachuk
Brandon Adams wore a gray wig to news conferences and weigh-ins. He shed the costume in the ring and answered questions about his age with a variety of punches.
Body shots, hooks and uppercuts were repeated answers to Serhii Bohachuk, who called the 36-year-old Adams — a Los Angeles middleweight — an old fighter.
Age is just a number, or at least it was for 10 rounds of punishing shots from multiple angles from Adams in a rematch victory Saturday at Allegiant Stadium over Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs) , a Ukrainian known for his power.
In the end, Adams made the 30-year Bohachuk look old. Adams, who scored an eighth-round TKO of Bohachuk in 2021, landed shots almost at will, winning a unanimous decision in the final fight before the Netflix portion of the Canelo-Crawford card.
Jermaine Franklin wins dull decision
It was unanimous.
On the cards.
And in the seats.
Jermaine Franklin Jr. won the decision. He also shared some of the contempt hurled at Ivan Dychko from a few fans scattered across Allegiant Stadium’s 65,000 seats Saturday on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford card in a heavyweight matinee Saturday.
Franklin (24-2), of Saginaw MI, and Dychko (15-, 14 KOs), a two-time Olympic bronze medalist from Kazakhstan, clinched and clutched more than they punched through 10 forgettable rounds. By the fifth, the scattered crowd began to jeer. By the eighth, the boos began to echo through the empty arena.
By the end of the 10th, there were cheers.
Finally, it was over.
Tsutsumi scores first-round stoppage
Reito Tsutsumi, a Japanese junior lightweight, didn’t need much time, mostly because Javier Martinez didn’t have much of anything at all.
Tsutsumi (3-0, 2 KOs) did it all within 2:18, walking down Martinez (7-3,4 KOs), hurting the Dallas fighter first with a succession of body shots and then finishing him with with straight punches that put Martinez on the canvas, a lonely figure in an empty building early on a card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Canelo Alvarez fight.
Sultan Almohammed made a succsessful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Martin Caraballo in a lightweight bout.
In round one, Almohammed dropped Caraballo with a right to the jaw.
Almohammed, 132.5 lbs of Jeddah, SA won by scores of 40-36 on all cardsa and is now 1-0. Caraballo, 133 lbs of Hollywood, FL is 0-1-1….Marc Abrams
Raiko Santana scored a mild upset by stopping Steven Nelson in the opening round of their 10-round light heavyweight bout.
Santana landed a hard right hand that hurt Nelson and a follow-up flurry forced the stoppage at 2:38.
Sanatana Of El Paso, TX is 13-4 with with seven knockouts. Nelson of Omaha, NEB is 20-2…...Marc Abrams
Potential Mexican star, Marco Verde stopped Sona Akale in round our of their six-roumd middleweight bout.
In round one, Verde landed a right hook that put Akale on the canvas.
In round four, Verde continued the assault and referee Mark Nelson stopped the bout at 1:11.
Verde, 158 lbs of Mazaltan, MEX is 3-0 with two knockouts. Akale, 158 lbs of St. Paul, MN is 9-4….Marc Abrams