Terence Crawford shook the boxing world on Tuesday by asserting his retirement, an surprising choice that brings an finish to one of the vital dominant careers of the trendy period.
At 38, the Omaha native determined to hold up his gloves on the high, undefeated and with a legacy that locations him among the many all-time greats.
Crawford bids farewell with an ideal report of 42 wins, 31 of them by knockout, after greater than 17 years as an expert. Along with his surprising retirement, Crawford leaves behind 4 titles within the 168-pound weight class.
“I’m retiring from competition, not because I’ve stopped fighting, but because I’ve won another kind of battle,” Crawford mentioned in a YouTube video. “The battle where you retire on your own terms.”
Among the many most decisive moments of his profession was his victory over Errol Spence Jr., which established him because the undisputed welterweight champion, and the triumph that in the end outlined his legacy: his tremendous middleweight victory over Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez.
In September, Crawford moved up a weight class to face the Mexican and defeated him by unanimous choice in Las Vegas. That battle towards Álvarez not solely confirmed his sporting greatness, but additionally led him to win the undisputed tremendous welterweight championship, an achievement that few thought-about potential.
“Every boxer knows this moment will come, we just never know when,” Crawford mentioned.
After that historic battle, hypothesis started about new challenges and a potential rematch, however Crawford selected a special path. In his farewell message, he made it clear that his choice was not as a consequence of a scarcity of bodily or aggressive skill, however somewhat to the conviction that he had pushed himself to the restrict and had nothing left to show within the ring.
“I’ve spent my whole life chasing something,” Crawford mentioned. “Not belts, not money, not headlines. But that feeling, the feeling you get when the world doubts you, but you keep going and prove everyone wrong.”
Since his debut in 2008, he has constructed a profession marked by versatility, tactical intelligence and an unusual skill to adapt to any opponent and circumstance within the ring. Left-handed or right-handed because the battle demanded, his technical mastery was a continuing all through his profession.
“I fought for my family. I fought for my city. I fought for the kid I used to be, the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it my way. I gave this sport every last breath I had,” he mentioned.
Through the years, Crawford gained world titles in a number of divisions and established himself as one of many pound-for-pound greats of up to date boxing.
His identify went down in historical past when he turned the undisputed champion in three completely different classes in the course of the period of 4 belts, a feat that set him aside even amongst elite champions. With every weight class transfer, he confronted skepticism and responded with compelling performances.
“I’m leaving like a great,” Crawford mentioned.
This text first appeared in Spanish through Instances en Español.
