Terence Crawford will help to give the boxing world the fight it has long craved on July 29.
As per reports by ESPN, Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. will settle their long-simmering feud when they meet for the undisputed welterweight championship.
The fight will be the culmination of an almost decade-long run at the top of the sport for multi-weight world champion Crawford and an opportunity for him to become a superstar who transcends the fight game.
The 35-year-old American has long been considered one of the very best pound-for-pound operators. Here, we look at how he got to this point.
What is Terence Crawford’s pro record?
Crawford made his professional debut with a first-round knockout of Brian Cummings on March 14, 2008.
That stands as the first bout in an unblemished resume for the southpaw that reads at 39-0, with 30 of those wins coming inside the distance.
Spence has won all 28 of his fights, meaning the American rivals will put a combined 67-0 on the line when they finally face off.
Did Terence Crawford box at the Olympics?
Crawford amassed a record of 58-12 as an amateur, although that included wins over fellow future world champions Danny Garcia and Mikey Garcia.
He was in the running to represent the United States at the 2008 Olympics in the lightweight category but a loss to Sadam Ali saw his compatriot head to Beijing instead
What titles has Terence Crawford won?
Crawford lifted the WBO NABO lightweight belt in his 21st paid contest, stopping Mexico’s Alejandro Sanabria in the sixth round of a scheduled 10. He set up that tilt with a dominant points win over one-time Amir Khan slayer Breidis Prescott.
Two fights later, on March 1, 2014, he challenged WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns in his native Scotland and put on the sort of masterful display that would quickly become familiar on the world stage.
Burns lost 116-112 on two cards and 117-111 on a third in Glasgow, the first of an unbroken streak of 17 successful world title fights across three weight classes for Crawford.
A comprehensive TKO wins over Yuriorkis Gamboa and a near-shutout points triumph over the redoubtable Raymundo Beltran concluded Crawford’s time at 135lbs.
His first fight at super lightweight saw him floor Thomas Dulorme three times in six rounds to collect the vacant WBO belt on April 18, 2015, with Dierry Jean suffering a similar fate next time out, albeit stretching his punishment until the 10th.
A wide unanimous decision over the unbeaten Viktor Postal added the WBC title to Crawford’s collection and his seventh and final fight at 140lbs was a mouthwatering undisputed showdown with Julius Indongo, who was IBF and WBA champion after his own win over Burns.
In the end, it wasn’t remotely close as Crawford floored his man in the second before closing the show in style with a third-round KO.
The cream of the welterweight division have similarly proved to be no match for Crawford, which both speaks of his incredible quality and the frustration over a bout with Spence not coming to fruition until now.
His first fight at 147lbs saw him stop WBO champion Jeff Horn over nine one-sided rounds. Coming immediately after the Indongo win, that was the second of an ongoing run of eight TKO victories.
The most notable of those came against former world champions Khan, Kell Brook — who lost his IBF belt to Spence in May 2017 — and Shawn Porter.
Fellow American Porter completed the fairly rare feat of actually winning a decent number of rounds against Crawford in their November 2021 contest that ended in the 10th as the challenger was dropped twice and promptly retired.
MORE: Boxing world reacts to report Errol Spence Jr. will fight Terence Crawford on July 29: 'FINALLY'
Who is Terence Crawford’s trainer?
Crawford is coached by Brian “Bomac” McIntyre in his native Omaha, Nebraska.
Another of McIntyre’s notable students is former WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring, who defended his title three times before losing to Shakur Stevenson in October 2021.
McIntyre also took on Khan for his all-British grudge match in February 2022, having overseen the downfall of both men from Crawford’s corner.
However, he could not stop Khan from suffering a sixth-round loss at the end of a one-sided beatdown in Manchester.
Was Terence Crawford in Creed 3?
Crawford’s lack of a significant public profile beyond boxing has been cited as a factor in him being unable to land blockbuster fights, although he branched out significantly into the world of cinema earlier this year.
He made a cameo appearance in Creed III as Lorenzo “Nightmare” Jones, a sparring partner for Adonis Creed heading into his bad-blood showdown with Damian Anderson.
