Boxing

TERENCE CRAWFORD has soared to the summit of the pound-for-pound rankings following his beatdown of Errol Spence Jr.The Nebraska native become the undisputed ruler of the welterweight division last weekend with a ninth-round stoppage of the former unified 147lbs champion.
Terence Crawford locked horns with Errol Spence Jr in Las Vegas last weekendCredit: GETTY
Bud turned in a career-best performance to hand his rival his first-ever lossCredit: GETTY
Terence Crawford celebrates becoming the undisputed king at welterweightCredit: GETTY
Slick switch hitter Crawford beat Spence Jr from pillar to post and ruthlessly bloodied him before the referee mercifully called a halt to proceedings.
Crawford’s career-best performance saw him become the first male boxer to become an undisputed champion in two different weight classes.
And Ring Magazine have deemed his historic victory worthy of placing him at the top of their prestigious pound-for-pound rankings.
Newly-crowned four-weight world champion Naoya Inoue is directly below Crawford in second place following his eighth-round KO victory over former unified super bantamweight king Stephen Fulton.
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Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk sits in third place ahead of boxing megastar Canelo Alvarez.
Canelo conqueror and WBA light-heavyweight king Dmitry Bivol occupies fifth spot ahead of the recently-battered Spence Jr.
Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney sits in seventh place ahead of Teofimo Lopez, who recently silenced his doubters with a decision victory over Josh Taylor.
Former three-weight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko – who lost the unified 135lb titles to Lopez nearly three years ago – rounds out the list in tenth place.
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Terence Crawford is now boxing’s pound-for-pound kingCredit: SUNSPORT
Crawford, 35, declared himself boxing’s pound-for-pound king shortly after his emphatic dethroning of Spence Jr.
The undisputed two-weight champ said: “Without a doubt.
“Like I told everybody once before, the winner out of this fight was gonna be number one pound-for-pound, hands down.
“You got Errol Spence, was ranked number four in the pound-for-pound.
“And you got Terence Crawford – I was ranked number one.
“So, you got two fighters that’s in the top five pound-for-pound ratings.
“How can [the winner] not be number one pound-for-pound?” More

ERROL SPENCE JR has revealed the proposed date for his rematch with Terence Crawford.The Texas titan suffered a pasting at the hands of Bud in their historic undisputed welterweight title fight in Las Vegas last weekend.
Errol Spence Jr locked horns with Terence Crawford in a historic undisputed welterweight fight last weekendCredit: GETTY
Spence Jr was battered from pillar to post before he was stopped in the ninth roundCredit: Getty
The Truth is hoping to rematch Crawford in DecemberCredit: Getty
Spence Jr, 33, was battered from pillar to post in the Sin City showdown before the referee mercifully called a halt to proceedings in the ninth round.
Both men had rematch clauses placed in their respective contracts for the generational fight, which Spence Jr plans to activate as soon as possible so they can renew their rivalry in December.
The Truth said: “Hell yeah, we got to do it again.
“I’m going to be a lot better, it’s going to be a lot closer.
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“It’s probably going to be in December because it’s set before the end of the year.”
Slick switch-hitter Crawford battered and bloodied Spence for several rounds before the contest was waved off in the ninth.
He said: “It was a good stoppage. I was on the verge [of knocking him out].
“The referee did what he was supposed to do to protect the fighter.
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“If the fight happens again I am pretty sure the support will come out again for both of us.”
Nebraska native Crawford was elated to have silenced his critics with a career-best performance.
He said: “They said I wasn’t good enough and I couldn’t beat these welterweights.
“I just kept my head to the sky and kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world how great Terence Crawford is.
“Tonight, I believe I showed how great I am.”
Former unified 147lbs king Spence Jr offered no excuses for his first professional defeat, saying: “He was just better tonight.
“I make no excuses. He was throwing a harder jab.
“He was timing with his jab, and he had his timing down on point.”
Terence Crawford believes he silenced his doubters with his masterclass ove Errol Spence JrCredit: GETTY More

JOSH WARRINGTON cannot afford another slow start against Leigh Wood after blowing recent world title and father’s race efforts.Leeds’ 32-year-old former IBF featherweight champ failed to reclaim his old red belt from Luis Alberto Lopez in December, despite a strong finish.
Ex-BF featherweight champion Josh Warrington will be back in action on October 7Credit: PA
Warrington faces Leigh Wood for the WBA 126lbs strap in a huge domestic dust-upCredit: PA
Warrington doesn’t plan on starting slowly against his fellow BritCredit: GETTY
And he was late out of the traps again earlier this summer when representing twin daughters Eliza and Olivia at their sports day.
The Elland Road diehard challenges the Nottingham Forest fan on October 7 at the neutral Sheffield Arena – for Wood’s WBA 9st crown – and only a burst out of the bell will be good enough.
“Oh, thanks for reminding me!” Wazza laughs when SunSport asks about his slow starts.
“I went into the Lopez fight after jaw surgery and I was just too tentative and worried about it getting whacked.
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“I finished the fight well on top but the damage is done and it is one that will haunt me forever. But the girls’ sports day wasn’t much better.
“My wife had won the mum’s race and the girls did well in all of their events, being a professional athlete I think most people thought my run would be a formality.
“I wasn’t really bothered about it but as I looked along the start line I suddenly spotted a lot of dads in top-of-the-range kit and equipment.
“My eye slipped off the ball again and I was rubbish out of the blocks.
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“It was a bit embarrassing but I am sadly getting a bit used to that lately.”
Warrington hasn’t embarrassed anyone, swapping a career as a dental technician for professional fighting in 2011, his highest hopes were a new car and a British title.
Today he is a millionaire, a former world champion, a Yorkshire icon and still a lovely fella.
The only thing missing from his CV – which includes career-defining wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton – is a bout in the USA where he can emulate his hero Ricky Hatton by taking thousands of supporters on a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
If that dream ends in the freezing Sheffield Arena – the ring perched above the Steelers’ ice rink – it will rob Warrington of something so important to his legacy.
“It does play on my mind almost constantly,” he said. “Some of the people who come to my fights now are the same people who were in Huddersfield and Bolton for four-round fights, at the end of the night when the cleaners were coming in to close up.
Josh Warrington hopes to treat his legion of faithful fans to a fight statesideCredit: GETTY
“We have come close to the Vegas or New York missions before so I know people have credit cards in kitchen draws specifically for it and are ready to risk holidays and relationships just to be there with me!
“And I have to reward these people for the time and money they have invested in me.
“I have managed to build a nice life for myself on the back of their support.
“I cannot let these people down, I cannot let this city down.
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“I still meet people now at football or fights who tell me they were in Vegas for Ricky’s biggest nights – wins and losses – and that they were the best times of their lives.
“I have to deliver that to my lot, I owe it to them, and I will.” More