Terence Crawford ascended to the pinnacle of his sport in September after defeating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. It appears he is concluding his professional journey at the age of 38.
The athlete, who held undisputed world titles across three weight divisions, seemingly declared his departure from professional boxing on Tuesday through his various social media platforms.
In a video shared on YouTube, Crawford stated:
“Each competitor understands that this point in time will eventually arrive, though its exact timing remains uncertain. Throughout my existence, I pursued a particular objective – not championships, not financial gain, nor public acclaim. Rather, it was that specific sensation; the one experienced when the world questions your capabilities, yet you consistently appear and continuously demonstrate their inaccuracy. This athletic pursuit provided me with everything. I competed on behalf of my relatives, for my community. I contended for the version of myself from childhood, who possessed merely an aspiration and a set of boxing gloves. And I accomplished it entirely according to my own principles. I dedicated every ounce of my effort to this sport. …
“I am withdrawing from competitive action. This decision isn’t due to a cessation of my desire to contend, but rather because I’ve triumphed in a distinct form of struggle: the one where you depart on your own conditions. This doesn’t signify a final farewell; instead, it marks the conclusion of one contest and the commencement of another.”
Should this truly signify the conclusion of Crawford’s professional boxing journey, he would be stepping down with an undefeated record of 42 wins and 0 losses (including 31 knockouts), cementing his position as potentially the top pugilist of his era. He claimed championships spanning from the lightweight to the super middleweight divisions, achieving the distinction of being only the second male boxer ever to secure undisputed status across three distinct weight categories (light welterweight, welterweight, super middleweight), and the first to do so during the era of four major titles.
“Bud” secured his ultimate set of championship belts a quarter of a year prior when he confronted Alvarez in what was arguably the most significant bout of his professional life. Across twelve rounds of action, he decisively outperformed the highly-regarded Alvarez, earning a unanimous decision victory against the sport’s preeminent figure.
This triumph propelled Crawford to the summit of Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound hierarchy, and a second encounter with Alvarez was widely anticipated. In the period following that contest, Crawford had his WBC championship belt removed due to an unusual disagreement over sanctioning fees, which provoked strong objections from the titleholder.
These are the events that occurred prior to Crawford’s declaration concerning the cessation of his boxing career.
Merely a handful of years have passed since Crawford decisively established himself among boxing’s top tier. While he commanded respect prior to his clash with Errol Spence Jr. and consistently appeared on pound-for-pound rankings, concerns regarding the caliber of his adversaries frequently lingered – a situation paradoxically compounded by how thoroughly he was dominating many seemingly formidable contenders.
All such criticisms were definitively dismissed in July 2023 when Crawford at last faced Spence, the other prominent pound-for-pound pugilist in the welterweight category, and utterly overwhelmed him. Crawford held a nine-point advantage on all judges’ scorecards when the official halted the fight in the ninth round.
Crawford ultimately participated in just two additional matches before his declaration of retirement: a unanimous decision victory against Israil Madrimov, which saw him join the ranks of super welterweight champions, and his triumph over Alvarez.
