Canelo vs. Crawford: History of boxers moving up in weight

Terence Crawford made a big, bold splash successful becoming a boxing satellite champion for the archetypal time. He dethroned lightweight titlist Ricky Burns successful March 2014 successful the Scotsman's backyard, walking into a hornet's nest to the dependable of ear-splitting singing and manus clapping successful Glasgow to predominate the hometown hero. As an unfazed 26-year-old, Crawford appeared to person a long, glorious aboriginal up of him with the WBO 135-pound title.

Barely a twelvemonth and conscionable 2 rubric defenses later, though, Crawford was gone from the lightweight division. He moved up 5 pounds and instantly made his interaction felt by the inferior welterweights -- oregon astatine slightest the 1 successful the ringing with him successful April 2015, warring for the championship. Thomas Dulome deed the canvas 3 times connected the mode to a sixth-round TKO that earned Crawford the vacant WBO 140-pound title. With 2 belts successful the trophy case, "Bud" was disconnected and moving connected a full-speed-ahead vocation that, a decennary later, has seen him determination up again and again to triumph championships successful 4 value classes.

That is not adjacent adjacent to the astir part titles won by a combatant successful boxing history, a favoritism held by eight-weight champion Manny Pacquiao. But Crawford's pursuit of bigger and amended things has transcended carnal size to clasp a antithetic benignant of immensity. He has been a pound-for-pound elite ever since the Burns fight, with each 18 of his bouts since past having had astatine slightest 1 rubric connected the line, including a 2017 knockout of Julius Indongo that made Crawford the undisputed inferior welterweight champion.

In July 2023 Crawford was successful 1 of the biggest fights boxing had to offer. He was a slim betting favourite successful a showdown with chap welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., but Crawford turned it into a one-sided showcase. He knocked down Spence 3 times and scored a ninth-round stoppage that made Crawford the undisputed welterweight champion and the archetypal four-belt titlist astatine 2 weights.

Crawford could adhd a 3rd undisputed rubric connected Saturday (Netflix, 9 p.m. ET) erstwhile helium challenges Canelo Alvarez, who holds each of the belts astatine ace middleweight. That is the part for 168-pounders, a afloat 14 pounds heavier than the bounds astatine inferior middleweight, wherever Crawford is champion, but has competed lone once. So Crawford is moving up not 1 but 2 value classes to situation the biggest prima successful boxing.

This is an awesome undertaking, but not unprecedented. Canelo was erstwhile a inferior middleweight champion arsenic well, and earlier winning his existent belts, helium unified 3 titles successful the part successful between, middleweight. He besides won a airy heavyweight rubric (175 pounds) erstwhile helium defeated Sergey Kovalev by 11th-round KO successful 2019. So Canelo knows what it feels similar to combat successful bigger value classes. He conscionable doesn't cognize what it's similar to marque that hefty ascent successful 1 fell swoop.

Through boxing's agelong history, fewer fighters person done what Crawford is mounting retired to do. But the athletics has seen its astir notable names measurement up successful large ways. Here are immoderate memorable examples.

Henry Armstrong vs. Barney Ross

May 31, 1938, astatine Madison Square Garden successful New York
Weighing the stakes: Armstrong, the champion astatine featherweight (126 pounds), challenged Ross for his rubric astatine welterweight (147 pounds), which was 2 divisions heavier astatine the clip but successful today's boxing would beryllium 4 divisions up from featherweight.

He fought astir a period ago, but Armstrong remains a distinguished fig successful the sport. He ensured that during a nine-month span, making past that has yet to beryllium duplicated. First, Armstrong knocked retired Petey Sarron connected Oct. 29, 1937, to go featherweight champion. The pursuing May 31, helium bushed Barney Ross for the welterweight title, skipping close implicit lightweight. Not for long, though. Less than 3 months aft winning the 147-pound belt, helium dropped to 135 ...