Terence Crawford wins by unanimous decision!
The official scores are 116-112 and 115-113 (twice). Terence Crawford is the new undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
Key events
“Canelo is a great champion,” Crawford says. “I’ve got to take my hat off to him hes a strong competitor. Like I said before, I’ve got nothing but respect for Canelo. I’m a big fan of Canelo and he fought like a champion today.”
Will it be his last fight? He says: “Like I said before, I don’t know. I got to sit down with my team and we’ve got to talk about it.”
Terence Crawford wins by unanimous decision!
The official scores are 116-112 and 115-113 (twice). Terence Crawford is the new undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
Round 12
Crawford picks up where he left off in the 11th, throwing and landing shots in combination. The American is really feeling himself. Crawford lands a massive counter right off a lunging miss by Canelo. What a performance. About a minute to go and and Crawford is smiling, moving from side to side and remaining an elusive target while peppering Canelo with shots. The Mexican crowd are urging their man on but it’s not happening. There’s the bell! Even accounting for the many swing rounds – especially in the first half of the fight – this should be a history-making with for Terence Crawford!
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 100-108 Crawford)
Round 11
What a fight. Two elite operators going head to head before a rapt crowd of more than 70,000. They’re trading shots in the center of the ring and Crawford snaps Canelo’s head backward with a flush left uppercut. Another left hand by Crawford. Crawford snaps Canelo’s head back again with a right hand! Crawford operating with supreme confidence here. A three-punch combo by Crawford sends his fans into roars. Canelo lands a powerful left at the end of the frame but it won’t be enough to swing it on our card.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 101-108 Crawford)
Round 10
Crawford continues to simply beat Canelo to the punch. He’s now fighting going backwards, scoring with counters. A sharp right by Canelo lands but Crawford smiles at it. A single right hand to the body from Canelo but the scoring shots are coming few and far between. Crawford stands in the pocket in the center of the ring and lands another three-punch combo in the closing seconds. That might have been enough to catch the attention of the judges in what was a fairly even round.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 92-98 Crawford)
Round 9
And they come out firing in the start of the ninth! Crowd on their feet! A combination by Crawford. Now Crawford is up against the ropes and gets cut by an accidental head butt. Referee Thomas Taylor calls time but the fight resumes after about 30 seconds. Crawford looks fresh as a daisy, bouncing laterally around the ring as Canelo looks increasingly frustrated. Another razor-thin round. Crawford up by five rounds on our card but the scores will be all over the place if this does go the distance.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 83-88 Crawford)
Round 8
Canelo looks frustrated and devoid of a plan B. Crawford looks comfortable and in total command, scoring from outside and in the pocket. Memories of the Mexican’s troubles with slick boxers (not to mention southpaws) come flooding back. Yet he’s still in the fight, doing some pretty good body work. But Crawford is slipping and blocking a lot of the incoming fire.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Crawford (Álvarez 74-78 Crawford)
Round 7
Now chants of “Craw-ford! Craw-ford!” from pockets of the crowd to start the seventh before they’re quickly booed by the Canelo fans. Now Crawford is clearly the busier man, outthrowing and outlanding and getting the better of the exchanges with Canelo, who is coming in straight ahead and getting countered to death. Canelo doesn’t have a very good history of coming from behind on the cards but it’s looking like he’ll have to do so tonight.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 64-69 Crawford)
Round 6
Canelo traps Crawford up against the ropes and uncorks a big hook, but the challenger evades it. Crawford lands a crisp left hand. Swelling under the right eye of Canelo. Canelo lands below the belt with Crawford in retreat and the referee warns him to keep the gloves up. Crawford smiles at his opponent in the closing seconds. The American is outboxing the bigger champion, making the most of that four-and-a-half-inch reach advantage.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 55-59 Crawford)
Round 5
The scores will be all over the map for this one through four rounds. Canelo continues to go to the body but Crawford’s hand speed is really showing. Big cheers of “Ca-ne-lo! Ca-ne-lo!” ring down from the upper deck. Both men throwing shots with bad intentions but haven’t connected flush just yet. Canelo stays dedicated to attacking Crawford’s midsection but the American continues to counter effectively. The fourth of five rounds that’s almost too close to call. Almost a fistic Rorschach test.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 46-49 Crawford)
Round 4
The action is picking up in the fourth. Crawford, who looks comfortable in there, lands a couple combinations upstairs that seem to bother Canelo and now the American is circling the ring with greater speed and fighting off the ropes in spots. Canelo partially lands a hard right upstairs but Crawford takes it well. Canelo lands a clean shot upstairs but Crawford takes that one well, too.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 37-39 Crawford)
Round 3
Crawford boxing nicely here, but Canelo is walking right though them. He’s managed the distance masterfully while fighting mostly off the back foot. Crawford lands a left cross. Canelo lands a left to the body. He’s spent nine minutes trying to set up the counter upstairs, but Crawford looks ready for it. Three very, very close rounds.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 28-29 Crawford)
Round 2
Canelo looking to close distance a little more aggressively in the second round. Crawford still fighting as a southpaw. Another tense round with little action as each man takes the other’s measure. Canelo is targeting the body, trying to slow Crawford down. Another close one, this time for Álvarez.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 10-9 Crawford (Álvarez 19-19 Crawford)
Round 1
Crawford opens in a southpaw stance, probing with the jab. It’s very much a feeling-out round, but Crawford lands a good combination to the body and the head. Canelo lands a clean shot to the body. Some major Wi-Fi issues in the stadium at the moment but we’ll get these updates to you as quickly as possible.
Guardian’s unofficial score: Álvarez 9-10 Crawford (Álvarez 9-10 Crawford)
Ring announcer Michael Buffer is making the fighter announcements. Notably, Saudi sporting magnate Turki al-Sheikh is announced and shown on the big screen to full-throated boos from a crowd of more than 70,000.
The waiting is over. The final instructions have been given by the referee, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
And here comes Canelo Álvarez. He’s the clear crowd favorite, looking relaxed and ready. The crowd is whipped into a frenzy during a head-spinning production on an epic scale incorporating dozens of mariachi band members. And there’s Canelo coming out of the tunnel, wearing a black velvet robe with gold lettering. He wears a stony countenance as he makes his way to the ring. What scenes!
It’s a long time for Crawford to wait in that ring. When Álvarez climbs on to the apron he turns to the crowd and raises a single fist in salute. The crowd goes wild.
Terence Crawford is making his entrance after a personalized video entrance. He walks quickly and methodically to the ring wearing a black rim with red trim. A deluge of boos initially but lots of cheers for the unbeaten American. The music is odd. First there was a four-minute performance by Adam Jones and Danny Carey of Tool, then Crawford made his ringwalk while a mariachi band played. Either way he’s in the ring now and we’re waiting on the champion …
It’s time for the main event. The fighters should be making their entrances any moment now. And not a moment too soon, considering it’s 12.34am on the US east coast.
Prediction time. When the inestimable Donald McRae and myself decided to go on the record with our picks for Canelo v Crawford, either one of us could have talked ourselves into going the opposite direction with it. It’s just that kind of matchup. In the end, here are our arguments for each fighter in tonight’s feature attraction.
Ireland’s Callum Walsh has just won a 10-round unanimous decision over Fernando Vargas Jr. The scores were 99-91 (twice) and 100-90, but not sure the Cork man did himself any favors tonight with a rather dull if effective performance. Nonetheless, he improves to 15 wins in 15 paying fights and the main event is upon us.
Obligatory celeb watch. Lots of stars in the crowd tonight. So far we’ve spotted Charlize Theron, Charlie Sheen, Dave Chappelle, Mark Wahlberg, Chance the Rapper, Mr Beast, Sofia Vergara, Tracy Morgan, David Spade, Josh Duhamel, Jonathan Majors, Angel Reese, Marc Anthony, Joey Bada$$ and Wiz Khalifa.
Angel Reese paid a visit to Terence Crawford’s locker room. Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Julio César Chávez headline a small army of current and former boxers. Marshawn Lynch appears to be an accredited photographer. And, of course, Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song.
One more prelim before the main event. Callum Walsh and Fernando Vargas Jr are making their way to the ring for their 10-round junior middleweight scrap and it should be a good one.
If you’re looking for some pre-fight reading, here’s our profile of Terence Crawford, the undefeated American looking to make history in the main event by climbing two weight classes to take Canelo Álvarez’s undisputed title at 168lb.
Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez have just fought to a 10-round split draw in the second-to-last undercard bout. One judge scored it 97-93 for Martinez, another 96-94 for Mbilli while the third had it 95-95. A terrific all-action scrap that will end up on a lot of fight of the year shortlists (even if the 97-93 score is more than a little dubious). Rematch, please.
Allegiant Stadium is filling up nicely as Christian Mbilli and Lester Martinez trade blows in the second-to-last preliminary bout. The $2bn home of the NFL’s Raiders has been configured for more than 70,000 spectators and the seats appear close to 90% full right now. Ticket prices for tonight’s card were discounted over the last few days amid an unusually sedate atmosphere for a Canelo fight week, giving rise to concerns over whether the stadium would fill to capacity.
Why? Some had pointed to the so-called Trump slump, the decline in international tourism that has impacted Las Vegas in recent months as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The likelier theory is that while most of boxing’s more recent super-fights have required years of wrangling and spent years in the public consciousness before coming to pass – Mayweather v Pacquiao, Álvarez v Golovkin, Crawford v Spence – this one materialized practically overnight. A year ago, Álvarez v Crawford was more a bar-room flight of fancy than plausible matchup given the weight gulf. Now, suddenly, here it is.
Tale of the tape
Here’s how the fighters measure up ahead of tonight’s showdown. Both Canelo and Crawford came in a half-pound below the super middleweight divisional limit at Friday’s official weigh-in, which took place behind closed doors with the fighters in separate rooms. But for all the (very valid) talk about Crawford moving up two weight classes and Álvarez being more accustomed to 168lb, the American brings in physical advantages of one-and-a-half inches in height and four-and-a-half inches in reach. And he really didn’t look that much like the smaller man when they came face to face later Friday at the ceremonial weigh-in that was open to the public.
Mohammed Alakel has just won a 10-round unanimous decision over John Ornelas. The scores were 99-91 (twice) and 98-92. Not a very good fight. Two more undercard bouts before the main event.
Meanwhile, Canelo Álvarez has just arrived at Allegiant Stadium.
Allegiant Stadium is about two-thirds empty but filling up during the first main undercard bout, but we’ve just gotten our first sense of who the crowd will be backing in the main event. Between frames of the scheduled 10-round lightweight fight between Mohammed Alakel and John Ornelas, the video on the large screens around the building flashed to Terence Crawford entering the building from a gangway beneath the stadium. The initial sound of cheers was quickly drowned out by lusty boos and jeers from what’s clearly going to be a pro-Álvarez audience. Not that Crawford wasn’t expecting it.
“Of course it’s going to be a pro-Canelo crowd,” Crawford said Wednesday. “It’s Mexican Independence Day. Vegas is like a second home for him … I’m looking forward to being an underdog. I’m already prepared for that.”
Preamble
Las Vegas is built on spectacle, but even by this city’s gaudy standards tonight feels oversized. Allegiant Stadium, a $2bn colossus usually reserved for NFL Sundays, has been turned into a fight coliseum for Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez v Terence “Bud” Crawford. More than 70,000 fans are expected to file inside, the largest crowd ever assembled for a boxing match in this desert town. And for the first time in decades, one of the sport’s biggest events won’t sit behind a pay-per-view wall: Netflix is sending it into living rooms around the world as part of a monthly subscription.
That scale makes sense on this particular weekend. Mexican Independence Day has become an unofficial holiday on boxing’s calendar, a chance for Canelo to defend more than belts. For years the red-headed idol from Guadalajara has carried his nation’s flag in Las Vegas, turning the Strip into a sea of green, white and red. He arrives at 35 as the undisputed champion at 168lb, a four-division title-holder from 154 through 175 who has outlasted rivals, critics and the fickle cycles of boxing stardom. He is, simply, the sport’s most bankable act.
And yet opposite him stands a fighter many regard as America’s finest boxer since Floyd Mayweather Jr. Crawford, 37, is a four-division champion himself from 135 through 154, a switch-hitting puzzle-solver from Omaha, Nebraska. He unified 140, then 147 in a run that culminated with a thrashing of Errol Spence Jr in 2013. What he lacks in Canelo’s commercial footprint he makes up in reputation: a craftsman’s craftsman, a fighter who has made elite-level opponents look ordinary for more than a decade.
The intrigue, of course, is the weight gap. All but one of Crawford’s 41 professional bouts took place at 147lb or below, while Canelo has been entrenched at 168 for nearly seven years and once captured a title at light heavyweight. History says such leaps can be ruinous. But Crawford’s frame has long hinted he could grow into the weight and his confidence has not wavered. The bookmakers still lean toward Canelo, but the odds have narrowed since the fight was announced.
What happens tonight will ripple beyond the ring. This is the first event promoted by Zuffa Boxing, a new venture under TKO Holdings – the company that also owns UFC and WWE. Dana White’s presence at the dais this week, backed by Saudi funding, underscores how forces outside the ropes are trying to reshape the sport. A proposed law in Washington could even change who controls boxing’s titles. That such upheaval can unfold beneath the spotlight of a fight like this only amplifies its sense of occasion.
For Canelo, the stakes are straightforward: maintain supremacy at 168, defend his status as Mexico’s national hero and remind the world that his reign is not nearing twilight. For Crawford, the prize is bigger still. He has already become the first man of the four-belt era to unify two divisions (a feat since matched by Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk). A win here, against a naturally larger man on the grandest stage imaginable, would propel him into all-time company.
The live Netflix broadcast has just started and there will be three preliminary bouts ahead of the main event. Order of play is as follows:
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Mohammed Alakel v John Ornelas, 10 rounds, lightweights
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Christian Mbilli v Lester Martinez, 12 rounds, super middleweights
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Callum Walsh v Fernando Vargas Jr, 10 rounds, junior middleweights
After that, two of the great fighters of their generation will make the long walk, one from Guadalajara, the other from Omaha, to decide who rules boxing’s most glittering stage.
How to watch Canelo v Crawford
The day is finally here. Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Terence Crawford, two of the most accomplished boxers of the past two decades, will climb through the ropes tonight in Las Vegas for one of the sport’s biggest events in years.
For the first time in boxing history, a fight of this significance will be streamed live globally on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers. The stream begins at 9pm ET (2am BST on Sunday), with three undercard bouts leading into the main event.
Netflix will offer commentary feeds in several languages. Unlike traditional pay-per-view – which often costs US fans around $90 – this one is included in a standard subscription.
You can read our complete watch guide for tonight’s fight here.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his preview of tonight’s showdown in Las Vegas.
