As the dust settles on Terence Crawfords statement-making win over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the historic significance of the scenes that unfolded earlier this month in Las Vegas should reshape what we think about modern-day boxing and how its weight classes need not constrain the sports elite.
Traditional thought dictates that Crawford had no right doing what he did to “Canelo,” regardless of the Mexican powerhouses decline from his prime. Alvarez remains a hulking bruiser who still dropped many of his most recent opponents, and who showed in 2023 against Jermell Charlo that he could sap a super welterweights ambitions within the 168-pound confines of super middleweight after only a few rounds.
Yet Crawfords generational skill set was more than enough to offset Alvarez’s physical advantages. He beat him to the punch with counters, showcased expert defense and stood his ground to land combinations from the pocket. If the Netflix event, staged in front of more than 70,000 fans at the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, was a proof of concept for Dana White and TKO Boxing, then the bout’s result is a blueprint for technical fighters dethroning kings from bigger divisions.
Because Crawford is not boxings only highly skilled operator who has done this.
Oleksandr Usyk has also shown through the years that he can take the sports biggest men to school despite his blown-up cruiserweight frame. The Ukrainian ran rampant under 200 pounds, won the World Boxing Super Series, and, at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, is now lapping competition who are frequently three inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than him as boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion.
For the sport of boxing to thrive in today’s landscape, other gifted fighters must also dare to be great.
They can elevate their legacies by replicating Crawford and Usyk in rewriting history like Roy Jones Jr., Roberto Duran and Henry Armstrong once did before them. Its how fighters go from being the best in their own era to becoming one of the best of all time.
Thats the challenge now for Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Naoya Inoue and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez fighters who possess difference-making qualities and have proven they can alter the course of big boxing bouts.
“Tank” is currently under fire for taking part in a Nov. 11 exhibition with Jake Paul, which kicked off its promotion this week with back-to-back increasingly bizarre press conferences. While lucrative for the headliners, this kind of unofficial event holds up the lightweight division, as Davis is its WBA champion.
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There are real fights waiting for one of America’s top remaining draws: Shakur Stevenson in a lightweight unification, Teofimo Lopez at 140 pounds, or Manny Pacquiao at welterweight.
Inoue, too, has elite fight-finishing power, but has so far resisted leaving super bantamweight to face a big name like “Tank” at a catchweight.
Japan’s “Monster” is an extraordinarily fun fighter to watch, but earlier this year boxed in a half-empty T-Mobile Arena against Ramon Cardenas on Cinco de Mayo weekend. In the build-up to that bout, a representative of Inoues requested no “Tank” questions moments before their fighter joined a media huddle with Uncrowned and other U.S. media.
If Inoue is to truly break through to American audiences and compete in front of sold-out venues as a box-office fighter, then he should follow in Crawfords footsteps, weight-jump and challenge the proven pay-per-view fighter in Davis.
Inoue appears set to fight Junto Nakatani next year in one of the biggest bouts world boxing can book. Yet its Nakatani who is daring to be great in that one, as it is he who is leaving the comfort of his own weight class to test his skills against the champion in the weight class above.
After Japans version of Hagler-Hearns takes place, Inoue should do similar to WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza, at the very least, if not Davis.
And the same applies for Jesse Rodriguez.
“Bam” is the jewel in Matchrooms U.S. roster. Hes the clear No. 1 in the 115-pound weight class, and, before long, hell have cleaned out that division.
That creates opportunity. Rodriguez could be the Crawford or the Usyk of the lighter weight classes by challenging the Inoue vs. Nakatani winner in 2026, regardless of its outcome.
Crawfords win shifted the sport of boxing because he leapt into a division where few gave him a chance, dismantled one of boxings global icons, and then left with every belt.
That wasnt just victory. It was a challenge to other pound-for-pound fighters to catch him if they can.
Fans dont just want champions protecting zeroes. They want fighters to show ambition and risk their legacies in 50-50 fights.
Crawford joined the lineage of Usyk, Jones, Duran and Armstrong in proving greatness lives outside comfort zones.
Now the spotlight shifts to “Tank,” Inoue, “Bam” and others. If 42 million tuned in to watch one man dare to be great, imagine the numbers when others follow.