Terence Crawford retained his WBO welterweight title after stopping rival Jose Benavidez in the 12th and final round of their bout, much to the delight of the 13,232 strong crowd at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
The duo had been embroiled in a tenacious build-up to the fight, with Benavidez shoving the champion during the staredown at the weigh-ins, something Crawford didn’t take too lightly has he responded by throwing a right hand which his opponent did well to dodge.
However, in the end there was only one outcome in the ring as Crawford sent Benavidez crashing to the floor with a vicious 12th round right-hand uppercut, then once the stunned 26-year-old got back to his feet he followed up with a flurry of punches to record a TKO victory with only 18 seconds left on the clock after the referee Celestino Ruiz stepped in to end proceedings.
As a result the American extended his unbeaten record to 34 wins from 34 fights, the last 12 of which have been title fights, while simultaneously inflicting the first defeat of Benavidez’s 27-fight career.
In the aftermath of his latest triumph Crawford said:
“It feels so good to shut somebody up that’s been talking for so long.
“Now I’m at ease.”
While the beaten Benavidez had this to say:
“I gave a hell of a fight to the best fighter in the world.
“This is boxing. It happens. He is a great fighter, but I’m a great fighter, too. We gave the fans a great show.”
(via @espn)
