Terence Crawford batters Jeff Horn to capture WBO welterweight title
Terence Crawford is a three-division world champion after stopping Australia’s Jeff Horn for the WBO welterweight title on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Crawford (33-0, 24 KOs) battered the champion for eight rounds before finally dropping him in the ninth with a series of blows. Horn beat the count, but Crawford teed off shortly after and referee Robert Byrd intervened at the 2:32 mark.
Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) had won the WBO’s version of the welterweight title with a controversial points win over Manny Pacquiao last year, but showed little on Saturday against the classy Nebraskan regarded by many as the world’s pound-for-pound best except bravery and a good chin.
Crawford, who had unified all four belts in the junior welterweight division, was moving up in weight and passed the test with flying colors, becoming the sixth fighter in boxing history to win titles at 135lbs, 140lbs and 147lbs.
The 30-year-old from Nebraska improved to 11-0 (eight knockouts) in world title fights, the most wins by an active American fighter.
Horn struggled to make weight one day prior to the bout, hitting 148lbs on his first try at the weighin Friday. He originally won the belt by decision from Manny Pacquiao last July in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia. He fought once since, stopping Gary Corcoran in Brisbane in December to retain his title.
He wasn’t so fortunate against Crawford, who out-landed Horn 155-58, according to CompuBox.
Crawford, a traditional righthander who fought southpaw most of the bout, dominated from the start, using both hands to pepper Horn. A big left in the second round by Crawford got things going, while an impressive right cross to Horn’s left temple in the third round showed his keen ability as a tactician.
Crawford’s skills came to life in the eighth round, as he went upstairs-downstairs near the end of the round, working the head and the body before closing the round with a monster right that staggered Horn.
The two fighters were originally scheduled to meet on 14 April, but Crawford injured a hand in training, which resulted in the fight being postponed. Though it’s been close to one year since Crawford has been in the ring, when he fought at 14lbs, he looked every bit the part of a hardhitting welterweight.
The fight marked the first attempt to attract boxing fans to ESPN’s new $4.99 per month app, which allowed them to watch the bout from the MGM Grand Garden.
In the co-main event, Jose Pedraza defeated Antonio Moran by unanimous decision for a regional lightweight title. With the win, it opened the door for Pedraza to challenge WBO lightweight world champion Ray Beltran in August.