Terence Crawford produced a masterclass performance against Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion and make history in the process.
In front of 70,000 fans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Crawford, who moved up two weight divisions, claimed a unanimous decision victory to claim the WBO, WBC, IBF and WBA super-middleweight belts - with judges scoring the contest 116-112, 115-113, 115-113.
"I'm not here by coincidence," said Crawford after the fight. "Canelo is a great champion. I have to take my hat off to him, he's a strong competitor and I have nothing but respect for him. He fought like a champion."
When asked if he would fight again, Crawford said: "I don't know, I've got to sit down with my team and we're going to talk about it.
"I just want to say thank you to all of the supporters, thank you to all the haters, I appreciate every one of you all. You made this a great event."
Canelo was humble in defeat, saying: "I feel great. I want to thank everyone that came to support. I'm a winner for being here. The fact I'm here makes me a winner. I take risks and that's what I did.
"I feel great to share the ring with great fighters like him. If we do it again then it'll be great. I already accomplished a lot in boxing. My legacy is already there and I like taking risks because I love boxing.
"I feel strong. Crawford is a great fighter, a skilled fighter."
The blockbuster fight in pictures
How Crawford made history
Crawford was the dominant fighter for the majority of the bout and successfully countered Canelo's greater punching power with his renowned ring intelligence.
There was limited action to excite the enormous Las Vegas crowd in the first eight rounds but the 37-year-old Crawford was the quicker, more athletic and better boxer to that point.
The action picked up significantly in the ninth as Crawford went after Alvarez - who had registered a few body shots earlier in the contest but little more - with several combinations.
His momentum got stopped when Alvarez headbutted Crawford, causing a brief timeout 41 seconds into the round.
Crawford, nevertheless, was the superior fighter the rest of the way and that dominance was reflected in the judges' scorecards on a momentous night for the sport.
'I was the better man tonight'
"I knew I won when the last bell rang," said Crawford. "God doesn't make mistakes and I'm here for a reason, I've been telling you that all week."
"I don't think he was less conditioned or anything, he was a thousand per cent prepared, I just think I was the better man.
"I was stronger, I punched harder and that was it. A lot of people put too much into me moving up in weight but Canelo is not a big guy, he's a smaller guy fighting in a big weight class. Me and him are practically the same size, he's a little shorter. I've been hit harder (than Canelo hit).
"I felt like I was in control in the first three rounds, like he was trying to figure me out. He was a little frustrated in there but that's part of the game."
Inoue remains undisputed
Another pound-for-pound star, Naoya Inoue was in action on Sunday, defending his undisputed super-bantamweight world championship.
Inoue secured a one-sided unanimous decision, 117-111 and 118-110 twice, over former unified champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev at IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan.
Inoue, 31-0 (27), a four-division world champion, now has made five defences of the undisputed crown he won in December 2023. He continued that dominance over Akhmadaliev, 14-2 (11), controlling the first half of the fight with his jab and straight right hands to the head and body.
Inoue took charge of the centre of the ring, dipping side to side and landing counter left hooks.
The consistent, accurate punching left Akhmadaliev's face marked up and swollen. In the ninth round, Inoue landed a three-punch combo and beckoned his fatigued foe to come forward.
Akhmadaliev had a brief moment in the final seconds of the 12th round, landing a sweeping right hook that got Inoue's attention. Inoue shrugged off the momentary defensive lapse and coasted to victory, increasing his record in world title fights to 26-0.
"I wanted to finish him in the middle rounds, but I didn't and stuck to my game plan," Inoue said.
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said: "We saw what a complete fighter Inoue has become. Not only a great puncher, but great strategy and footwork. That's what the real all-time greats have, and this young man demonstrated it tonight."
